
Class i .il'ls. 

Book ZUx 



Copyright N"* 

COPVRIGIIT DEPOSIT. 



DR. JOHN McLOUGHLIN 



This is one of one hundred copies 
of this work especially printed 
for presentation by the author. 




Dr. John McLoughlin 

Taken from a daguerreotsfe of Dr. John McLoughlin made in /Sj6, ahout a 
year before his death. The original daguerreotype belongs to Airs. "Josiah My rick of 
Portland, Oregon, a granddaughter of Dr. McLoughlin. 



DR. JOHN McLOUGHLIN 

the Father of Oregon 



BY 



FREDERICK V. HOLMAN 

Director of the Oregon Pioneer Association and of the 
Oregon Historical Society 



fFith Portraits 




Cleveland, Ohio 

The Arthur H. Clark Company 

1907 



'UH?.«iflY of congress] 

Ilwii Copies Received ' 
SEP 23 I90r 
. ^ Copynrht Entry 
,'Joly 22, 1907 
I CLAS^ KXC, No. 

182431 

j co^''' '"i- 



COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY 

FREDERICK V. HOLMAN 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 







rO the true, goody brave Oregon Pioneers 
of 1843, 1844, 1845^ and 1846, whose 
coming in the time of ioint-occwpancy 
did so much to help save Oregon and assisted 
in making it what it is today; whose affections 
and regards for Dr. John McLoughlin and 
whose remembrances and heartfelt appreciations 
of his humanity and kindness to them and theirs 
can and could end only with their deaths^ this 
volume is most respectfully dedicated. 



CONTENTS 

PREFACE . . . . .15 

TEXT . . . . .19 
Early Settlements and Joint-occupancy of the 

Oregon Country . . . . .20 
The Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest 

Company . . . . .21 

Genealogy and Family of Dr. John McLoughlin 22 

MCLOUGHLIN AND THE OrEGON CoUNTRY . . 2$ 

Fort Vancouver . . . . ' ^J 

Punishment of Indians . . . -35 

Early French Canadian Settlers . . • 4i 

Early American Traders and Travellers . . 45 

Presbyterian Missionaries . . . .52 

Methodist Missions and Missionaries . . 54 
Provisional Government 
Imaugration of 1842 . 



Immigration of 1843 . 
Immigration of 1844 . 
Immigration of 1845 . 



64 
69 
70 
78 
81 



The Quality of the Early Immigrants . . 83 

The Resignation of Dr. John McLoughlin. . 9t>" 

Dr. McLoughlin's Religion . . . -98 

Dr. McLoughlin's Land Claim . . . loi 

Abernethy Island . . . . -114 

The Shortess Petition . . . .116 

Land Laws of the Provisional Government. . 119 

Dr. McLoughlin's Naturalization . . .120 



lo Dr. John McLoughlin 

Conspiracy against Dr. McLoughlin 

Thurston's Letter to Congress 

Protests against Thurston's Actions 

The Oregon Donation Land Law . 

The Conspiracy Effective . 

Career and Death of Thurston . 

The Methodist Episcopal Church . 

Dr. McLoughlin's Memorial to Congress 

The Persecution Continued 

The End of Dr. McLoughlin's Life . 

Justice to Dr. McLoughlin's Memory 

Opinions by Dr. McLoughlin's Contemporaries 

Eulogy upon Dr. McLoughlin 



122 
123 

140 

144 
146 
149 
152 

162 
169 



ILLUSTRATIVE DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN 
THE TEXT: 

A: Article 3 of Convention of October 20, 1818, be- 
tween the United States and Great Britian . 175 

B: Convention of August 6, 1827, between the United 

States and Great Britian . . • I75 

C: Statement concerning merger of Hudson's Bay 
Company and Northwest Company; and grant 
to Hudson's Bay Company of 1 821 and 1838 
to trade in the Oregon Country . .176 

D: Excerpts from Manuscript Journal of Rev. Jason 

Lee . . . . .180 

E: Rev. Jason Lee's visit to Eastern States in 1838; 
and his report to the Missionary Board at New 
York in 1844 .... 185 

F: Excerpts from Narrative of Commodore Charles 
Wilkes, U.S.N., published in Philadelphia in 
1845 ..... 190 

G: Letter from Henry Brallier to Fi^ederick V. Hol- 

man of October 27, 1905 . . .196 



Dr. John McLoughlin ii 

H: Shortess Petition; excerpts from Gray's "History 
of Oregon" relating to Shortess Petition; and 
excerpt from speech of Samuel R. Thurston in 
Congress, December 26, 1850, as to author of 
Shortess Petition . . . . 198 

I: Ricord's Proclamation; letters of A. Lawrence 
Lovejoy and Rev. A. F. Waller of March 20, 
1844; Ricord's Caveat; invalidity of Waller's 
claim to Dr. McLoughlin's land; and excerpts 
from letters of Rev. Jason Lee to Rev. A. F. 
Waller and Rev. Gustavus Hines, written in 
1844 ..... 212 

J: Agreement between Dr. John McLoughlin, Rev. 
A. F. Waller, and Rev. David Leslie, of April 
4, 1844; statement of cause and manner of mak- 
ing said agreement .... 224 

K: Statement of career in Oregon of Judge W. P. 

Bryant ..... 228 

L: Letter of Dr. John McLoughlin, published in the 
"Oregon Spectator" Thursday, September 12, 
1850 ..... 229 

M : Letter by William J. Berry, published in the 

"Oregon Spectator," December 26, 1850 . 243 

N: Excerpts from speech of Samuel R. Thurston in 

Congress, December 26, 1850 . . 246 

O: Correspondence of S. R. Thurston, Nathaniel J. 
Wyeth, Robert C. Winthrop and Dr. John 
McLoughlin, published in the "Oregon Spec- 
tator," April 3, 185 1 . . . 256 

P: Letter from Rev. Vincent Snelling to Dr. John 

McLoughlin of March 9, 1852 . . 262 

Q: Excerpts from "The Hudson's Bay Company and 
Vancouver's Island" by James Edward Fitz- 
gerald, published in London in 1849; and ex- 
cerpt from "Ten Years in Oregon," by Rev. 



12 Dr. John McLoughlin 

Daniel Lee and Rev. J. H. Frost, published 

in New York in 1844 . . . 264 

R: Note on Authorship of "History of Oregon" in 
Bancroft's Works; and sources of information 
for this monograph . . . .270 

S: Excerpts from opinions of contemporaries of Dr. 

McLoughlin . . , . 272 

INDEX . . . . . . 287 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Portrait of Dr. John McLx)ughlin, taken from daguerreo- 
type of 1856; from original belonging to Mrs. Josiah My- 
rick, Portland, Oregon Frontispiece 

Portrait of Dr. John McLoughlin, taken from minia- 
ture painted on ivory, 1838 or 1839; from original belong- 
ing to Mrs. James W. McL. Harvey, Mirabel, California. 

facing p. 62 



PREFACE 

This is a plain and simple narrative of the life 
of Dr. John McLoughlin, and of his noble career 
in the early history of Oregon. The writing of it 
is a labor of love on my part, for I am Oregon- 
born. A number of my near relatives came to Ore- 
gon overland in the immigrations of 1843, i^45> 
and 1846. My father and mother came overland 
in 1846. The one great theme of the Oregon 
pioneers was and still is Dr. McLoughlin and his 
humanity. I came so to know of him that I could 
almost believe I had known him personally. 

He, the father of Oregon, died September 
third, 1857, yet his memory is as much respected 
as though his death were of recent occurrence. In 
Oregon he will never be forgotten. He is known 
in Oregon by tradition as well as by history. His 
deeds are a part of the folk-lore of Oregon. His 
life is an essential part of the early, the heroic days 
of early Oregon. I know of him from the conver- 
sations of pioneers, who loved him, and from the 
numerous heart-felt expressions at the annual 
meetings of the Oregon pioneers, beginning with 
their first meeting. For years I have been collect- 
ing and reading books on early Oregon and the 
Pacific Northwest Coast. I am familiar with 



1 6 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

many letters and rare documents in the possession 
of the Oregon Historical Society relating to events 
in the time of the settlement of Oregon, and con- 
taining frequent references to Dr. McLoughlin. 

October sixth, 1905, was set apart as McLough- 
lin Day by the Lewis and Clark Exposition, at 
Portland, Oregon. I had the honor to be selected 
to deliver the address on that occasion. In writ- 
ing that address I was obliged to familiarize my- 
self with exact knowledge of dates and other im- 
portant circumstances connected with the life and 
times of Dr. McLoughlin. In writing it, although 
I endeavored to be concise, the story grew until 
it went beyond the proper length for an address, 
and so I condensed it for oral delivery on Mc- 
Loughlin Day. 

Since that time I have largely rewritten it, and, 
while not changing the style essentially, I have 
added to it so that it has become a short history. 
For the benefit of those interested in Dr. John 
McLoughlin and the history of early Oregon, I 
have added notes and many documents. The lat- 
ter show some of the sources from which I have 
drawn, but only some of them. They are neces- 
sary to a thorough understanding, particularly, as 
to the causes of his tribulations, and of what is 
due to him as a great humanitarian, and of his 
great services in the upbuilding of Oregon. 

I have been kindly assisted by men and women 
still living who knew him personally, by those who 
gladly bear witness to what he was and what he 
did, and by those who have studied his life and 
times as a matter of historical interest. 



Preface 1 7 

The full history of the life of Dr. John 
McLoughlin will be written in the future. Such 
a history will have all the interest of a great ro- 
mance. It begins in happiness and ends in martyr- 
dom. It is so remarkable that one unacquainted 
with the facts might doubt if some of these mat- 
ters I have set forth could be true. Unfortunately 
they are true. 

Frederick V. Holman 

Portland, Oregon, January, 1907. 



DR. JOHN iVIcLOUGHLIN 

The story of the life of Dr. John McLoughlin 
comprises largely the history of Oregon begin- 
ning in the time of joint-occupancy of the Oregon 
Country, and continuing until after the boundary 
treaty dividing the Oregon Country between the 
United States and Great Britain, the establish- 
ment of the Oregon Territorial Government, and 
the passage of the Oregon Donation Law. It re- 
lates directly to events in Oregon from 1824 until 
the death of Dr. McLoughlin in 1857, and inci- 
dentally to v/hat occurred in Oregon as far back 
as the founding of Astoria in 181 1. 

Prior to the Treaty of 1846 between the United 
States and England fixing the present northern 
boundary line of the United States west of the 
Rocky Mountains, what was known as the "Oregon 
Country" was bounded on the south by north lati- 
tude forty-two degrees, the present northern 
boundary of the states of California and Nevada; 
on the north by latitude fifty-four degrees and 
forty minutes, the present southern boundary 
of Alaska; on the east by the Rocky Moun- 
tains; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. 
It included all of the states of Oregon, Washing- 
ton, and Idaho, and parts of the states of Mon- 



20 Dr. John McLoughlin 

tana and Wyoming, and all of the present Domin- 
ion of Canada between latitudes forty-nine degrees 
and fifty-four degrees forty minutes, and west of 
the Rocky Mountains. Its area was approximately 
four hundred thousand square miles, an area about 
twenty-five per cent, greater than that of the orig- 
inal thirteen colonies at the time of the American 
Revolution. 

Early Settlements and Joint-occupancy of the Ore- 
,.^ gon Country. 

The first permanent settlement on the Columbia 
River was made by the Pacific Fur Company, 
which was organized and controlled by John Jacob 
Astor. It founded Astoria March 22, 181 1. Oc- 
tober 16, 1813, during the war of 1812, the estab- 
lishments of the Pacific Fur Company in the Ore- 
gon Country, and all its furs and supplies, were 
sold, at less than one-third of their value, to the 
Northwest Company, of Montreal, by the treach- 
ery of Duncan McDougal, a partner of Astor in 
the Pacific Fur Company. December i, 18 13, 
the British sloop-of-war Raccoon arrived at 
Astoria and took formal possession of it in the 
name of the King of Great Britain. The captain 
of the Raccoon changed the name of Astoria to 
that of Fort George. Its name is now Astoria. 
The Northwest Company continued to carry on 
its business at Fort George and at other points 
in the Oregon Country until its coalition with the 
Hudson's Bay Company in 1821. 

The treaty of peace between the United States 
and England at the conclusion of the war of 18 12 
was signed at Ghent, December 24, 18 14. It is 



Dr. John McLoughlin 2t 

known as the "Treaty of Ghent." Under this 
treaty Great Britain, on October 6, 1818, formally 
restored to the United States "the settlement of 
Fort George on the Columbia River." A Conven- 
tion between the United States and Great Britain 
was signed October 20, 1818. That Convention 
provided that the Oregon Country should be free 
and open, for the period of ten years, to the citi- 
zens and subjects of the two countries, being what 
is called for convenience joint-occupancy by the 
two countries.^ Another Convention between the 
two countries was made in 1827, by which this 
joint-occupancy was continued indefinitely, sub- 
ject to termination after October 20, 1828, by 
either the United States or Great Britain giving 
to the other twelve months' notice.^ In April, 
1846, Congress passed a joint resolution giving the 
President authority, at his discretion, to give such 
notice to the British Government. Under the au- 
thority of this resolution President Polk signed a 
notice, dated April 28, 1846, which by its terms 
was to go into efifect from and after its delivery to 
the British Government at London. June 6, 1846, 
the British Government proposed the present 
boundary. This was accepted by the American 
Government. The treaty was signed at Washing- 
ton, June 15, 1846. 

The Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest 
Company. 

The Hudson's Bay Company was established in 
1670 under a charter granted by King Charles II. 

^ See Document A at end of volume. 
^ See Document B. 



22 Dr. John McLoughlin 

The Northwest Company was formed in Montreal 
in 1783-4. It became the great rival of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. Warfare occurred between 
the two companies, beginning in 1815. A compro- 
mise was finally effected and in 1821 the North- 
west Company coalesced with the Hudson's Bay 
Company.' Dr. McLoughlin was a partner of 
the Northwest Company and opposed the coalition 
in a most determined manner. He would not sign 
the final agreement, as he considered it unfair to 
himself and to his associates in the Northwest 
Company. But the Hudson's Bay Company knew 
of Dr. McLoughlin, his resolution, his power, and 
his capacity, and it employed him as Chief Factor 
to manage and to build up the Company's business 
in the Oregon Country. He was given plenary 
powers. He was the man for the place and the 
time. 

Genealogy and Family of Dr. John McLoughlin. 
Dr. John McLoughlin was born October 19, 
1784, in Parish La Riviere du Loup, Canada, 
about one hundred and twenty miles below Quebec, 
on the south side of the St. Lawrence River. He 
was baptized November 3, 1784, at the Parish of 
Kamouraska, Canada, there being no Roman 
Catholic priest at La Riviere du Loup. Both of 
his parents were Roman Catholics. His father 
was John McLoughlin, a native of Ireland. Of 
him little is now known, excepting that he was a 
man of high character. He was accidentally 
drowned in the St. Lawrence River. The date I 



See Document C. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 23 

have been unable to ascertain. It was probably 
while his son John was quite young. For conven- 
ience I shall hereinafter speak of John McLough- 
lin, the younger, as Dr. John McLoughlin, or Dr. 
McLoughlin. His mother's maiden name was 
Angelique Fraser. She was a very fine woman. 
She was born in the Parish of Beaumont, Canada, 
and died in Canada, July 3, 1842, aged 83 years. 
Her father was Malcolm Fraser, a native of Scot- 
land. At the time of his retirement from the army 
and settlement in Canada, in 1763, he was a cap- 
tain in the 84th regiment of the British regular 
army. He was at one time a lieutenant in the 
78th regiment, known as the Fraser Highland- 
ers. He spelled his name with two "f's" - 
Ffraser. Flis daughter was also related to Gen. 
Fraser, one of Burgoyne's principal officers, who 
was killed at the battle of Saratoga, October 7, 

^777- 
^^-- Dr. John McLoughlin's father and mother had 

/^ seven children, of which five were daughters ; the 
youngest daughter died while young. He was the 

4 second child, the eldest son, his only brother, 
David, being the third child. It is probable that 
Dr. John McLoughlin and his brother David 
were brought up in the home of their maternal 
grandfather. Their only maternal uncle was 
Samuel Fraser, M. D. He was a lieutenant in 
the Royal Highland Regiment (the famous "Black 
Watch" regiment). He took part in all the en- 
gagements fought by that regiment from 1795 to 
1803, in the Napoleonic wars. Their maternal rel- 
atives seem to have exercised a strone influence on 



24 Dr. John McLoughlin 

both young John and David McLoughlin. They 
both became physicians. David served in the 
British army, and, after the Battle of Waterloo, 
practiced medicine in Paris, France. Dr. John 
McLoughlin was educated in Canada and Scot- 
land. He joined the Northwest Company, which 
was composed and controlled by very active, prac- 
tical, and forceful men. In 1821 he was in charge 
of Fort William, the chief depot and factory of the 
Northwest Company, when that Company coal- 
esced with the Hudson's Bay Company. Fort Wil- 
liam is situated on the north shore of Lake Supe- 
rior, at the mouth of the Kaministiquia River. It 
was at Fort William, where he was stationed for a 
long time, that he became acquainted with the 
widow of Alexander McKay. Dr. McLoughlin 
married her, the exact date I have been unable to 
ascertain. Alexander McKay was a partner of 
John Jacob Astor in the Pacific Fur Company. 
He was killed in the capture, by Indians, of the 
ship Tonquin in June, 181 1, at Clayoquot Sound, 
on the west coast of Vancouver's Island. 

Dr. John McLoughlin and wife had four chil- 
dren, whose names in order of birth were as fol- 
lows: Eliza, John, Eloisa, and David. They are 
all dead. Eliza McLoughlin married Captain 
Epps, an officer in the English army. John 
McLoughlin, Jr., was murdered in April, 1842, 
at Fort Stikeen, where he was in charge. Eloisa 
McLoughlin was Dr. McLoughlin's favorite 
child. She was married to William Glen Rae at 
Fort Vancouver in 1838. Rae was appointed, 
after his marriage, a Chief Trader of the Hudson's 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 25 

Bay Company. In 1841 he was sent to California 
to take charge of the Company's business at Yerba 
Buena, now San Francisco. He continued in 
charge there until his death in 1844. All of their 
children are dead, excepting two- Mrs. Theodore 
Wygant and Mrs. Josiah Myrick, both now living 
in Portland. In October, 1850, Mrs. Rae was 
married to Daniel Harvey. There were three 
children by this second marriage, all of whom are 
now dead. Daniel Harvey died prior to his wife. 
She died at Portland in October, 1884. In Port- 
land and its vicinity there are now living several 
children of Mrs. Wygant and Mrs. Myrick, and 
also several grandchildren of Mrs. Wygant. At 
Mirabel, Sonoma County, California, there are 
now living a son, a daughter, and also the widow 
of James W. McL. Harvey, a son of Daniel 
and Eloisa Harvey. A son of Mrs. Myrick is liv- 
ing at Los Angeles, California. David McLough- 
lin, the youngest child of Dr. McLoughlin, was 
educated in England. He returned to Oregon, 
and later made his home in Idaho, where he died 
at an advanced age. 

Dr. McLouglin and the Oregon Country. 

Physically Dr. John McLoughlin was a superb 
specimen of man. His height was not less than six 
feet four inches. He carried himself as a master, 
which gave him an appearance of being more than 
six feet and a half high. He was almost perfectly 
proportioned. Mentally he was endowed to match 
his magnificent physical proportions. He was 
brave and fearless; he was true and just; he was 



26 Dr. John McLoughltn 

truthful and scorned to lie. The Indians, as well 
as his subordinates, soon came to know that if he 
threatened punishment for an offense, it was as 
certain as that the offense occurred. He was abso- 
lute master of himself and of those under him. He 
allowed none of his subordinates to question or to 
disobey. This was necessary to conduct the busi- 
ness of his Company, and to preserve peace in the 
vast Oregon Country. He was facile princeps. 
And, yet, with all these dominant qualities, he had 
the greatest kindness, sympathy, and humanity. He 
needed all his stern and manlike characteristics to 
govern the officers, employees, servants, and de- 
pendents of his Company, and to conduct its busi- 
ness, in the Oregon Country. Here was a great 
empire in physical extent, intersected by great 
rivers and chains of mountains. There was no one 
on whom he could depend, except his under-of- 
ficers and the Company's servants. To him were 
given no bands of trained soldiers to govern a 
country half again larger than the Empire of Ger- 
many, and occupied by treacherous, hostile, crafty, 
and cruel savages ; and to so govern as not to be to 
the prejudice, nor to the exclusion, of citizens of 
the United States, nor to encourage them, nor to 
help them. 

When he first came to Oregon, it was not safe 
for the Company's parties to travel except in large 
numbers and heavily armed. In a few years there 
was practically no danger. A single boat loaded 
with goods or furs was as safe as a great flotilla had 
been when he arrived on the Columbia River in 
1824. It was Dr. John McLoughlin who did this. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 27 

by his personality, by his example, and by his in- 
fluence. He had accomplished all this when the 
Indian population of the Oregon Country is esti- 
mated to have been in excess of 100,000, including 
about 30,000 on the Columbia River below its 
junction with Snake River, and on the tributaries 
of that part of the Columbia River. This was 
before the great epidemics of the years 1829 to 
1832, inclusive, which caused the deaths of great 
numbers of the Indians, especially those living on 
and near the lower Columbia River. [There were 
no Indian wars in the Oregon Country during all 
the time Dr. McLoughlin was in charge at Fort 
Vancouver, from 1824 to 1846. All the Indian 
wars in the Oregon Country occurred after he re- 
signed from the Hudson's Bay Company. The 
first of these wars began with the Whitman mas- 
sacre in 1847. 

When he came to Oregon, he was nearly forty 
years old. His hair was then almost white, and 
was worn long, falling almost to his shoulders. It 
did not take long for the Indians to know him and 
to give him a name. To some of the Indians he 
was the ^'White-Headed Eagle," and to others, the 
"Great White Chief." 

Fort Vancouver. 

Dr. McLoughlin came overland to Fort George 
(Astoria), arriving there in 1824. He soon saw 
that the place for a great trading and supply post 
should be further up the Columbia River. After 
careful surveys in small boats, he founded Fort 
Vancouver, on the north side of the Columbia 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 



River, about seven miles above the mouth of the 
Willamette River, and several miles below the 
point named Point Vancouver by Lieut. Brough- 
tan, in 1792, the latter point being near the present 
town of Washougal, Washington. In 1825 Fort 
Vancouver was constructed, in part, and the goods 
and effects at Fort George were moved to Fort 
Vancouver. The final completion of the latter fort 
was not until a later period, although the work 
was carried on as rapidly as possible. A few years 
after, about 1830, a new fort was erected about a 
mile westerly from the original fort. Here is now 
located the present United States' Military poet, 
commonly known as Vancouver Barracks. 

With characteristic energy and foresight Dr. 
McLoughlin soon established at and near Fort 
Vancouver a large farm on which were grown 
quantities of grain and vegetables. It was after- 
wards stocked with cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and 
hogs. In 1836 this farm consisted of 3,000 acres, 
fenced into fields, with here and there dairy houses 
and herdsmen's and shepherd's cottages. In 1836 
the products of this farm were, in bushels: 8,000 of 
wheat; 5,500 of barley; 6,000 of oats; 9,000 of 
peas; 14,000 of potatoes; besides large quantities 
of turnips (rutabaga), pumpkins, etc.^ There 
were about ten acres in apple, pear, and quince 
trees, which bore in profusion. He established 
two saw mills and two flour mills near the fort. 
For many years there were shipped, from Fort 
Vancouver, lumber to the Hawaiian Islands (then 

* Report of Naval Agent W. A. Slocum to the Secretary of State, 
March 26, 1837. 



Dr. John McLoughiin 29 

called the Sandwich Islands) and flour to Sitka. 
It was not many years after Dr. McLoughlin came 
to the Oregon Country until it was one of the most 
profitable parts of North America to the Hudson's 
Bay Company. For many years the London value 
of the yearly gathering of furs, in the Oregon 
Country, varied from $500,000 to $1,000,000, sums 
of money representing then a value several fold 
more than such sums represent today. 

Fort Vancouver was a parallelogram about 
seven hundred and fifty feet long and four hun- 
dred and fifty broad, enclosed by an upright picket / 
wall of large and closely fitted beams, over twenty / 
feet in height, secured by buttresses on the inside. 
Originally there was a bastion at each angle of the 
fort. In the earlier times there were two twelve 
pounders mounted in these bastions. In the cen- 
ter of the fort there were some eighteen pounders; 
all these cannon, from disuse, became merely orna- 
mental early in the thirties.^ In 1841, when Com- 
modore Wilkes was at Fort Vancouver, there were 
between the steps of Dr. McLoughlin's residence, 
inside the fort, two old cannon on sea-carriages, 
with a few shot. There were no other warlike in- 
struments.*^ It was a very peaceful fort. 

The interior of the fort was divided into two 
courts, having about forty buildings, all of wood 
except the powder magazine, which was con- 
structed of brick and stone. In the center, facing 
the main entrance, stood the Hall in which were 
the dining-room, smoking-room, and public sit- 

' Dunn's History of the Oregon Territory, p. 143. 
" Wilkes's Narrative, iv, p. 327. 



30 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

ting-room, or bachelor's hall. Single men, clerks, 
strangers, and others made the bachelor's hall their 
place of resort. To these rooms artisans and serv- 
ants were not admitted. The Hall was the only 
two-story house in the fort. The residence of Dr. 
McLoughlin was built after the model of a French 
Canadian dwelling-house. It was one story, weath- 
er-boarded, and painted white. It had a piazza 
with vines growing on it. There were flower-beds 
in front of the house. The other buildings con- 
sisted of dwellings for officers and their families, 
a school-house, a retail store, warehouses and 
shops. 

A short distance from the fort, on the bank of 
the river, was a village of more than fifty houses, 
for the mechanics and servants, and their families, 
built in rows so as to form streets. Here were also 
the hospital, boat-house, and salmon-house, and 
near by were barns, threshing-mills, granaries, and 
dairy buildings. The whole number of persons, 
having their homes at Fort Vancouver and its 
vicinity, men, women, and children, was about 
eight hundred. The Flail was an oasis in the vast 
social desert of Oregon. Fort Vancouver was a 
fairy-land to the early travellers, after their long, 
hard journeys across the continent. Thomas J. 
Farnham was a traveller who came to Oregon in 
1839. He was entertained by Dr. McLoughlin at 
Fort Vancouver. In his account of his travels, 
which he subsequently published, he gives the fol- 
lowing description of the usual dinner at Fort 
Vancouver: 

"The bell rings for dinner; we will now pay a 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 31 

visit to the 'Hall' and its convivialities. 
At the end of a table twenty feet in length stands 
Governor McLoughlin, directing guests and 
gentlemen from neighboring posts to their 
places; and chief-traders, traders, the physician, 
clerks, and the farmer slide respectfully to their 
places, at distances from the Governor correspond- 
ing to the dignity of their rank in the service. 
Thanks are given to God, and all are seated. Roast 
beef and pork, boiled mutton, baked salmon, 
boiled ham; beets, carrots, turnips, cabbage, and 
potatoes, and wheaten bread, are tastefully dis- 
tributed over the table among a dinner-set of ele- 
gant queen's ware, burnished with glittering 
glasses and decanters of various-coloured Italian 
wines. Course after course goes round, . . ^ 
and each gentleman in turn vies with him in dif- 
fusing around the board a most generous allowance 
of viands, wines, and warm fellow-feeling. The 
cloth and wines are removed together, cigars are 
lighted, and a strolling smoke about the premises, 
enlivened by a courteous discussion of some mooted 
point of natural history or politics, closes the cere- 
monies of the dinner hour at Fort Vancouver." 

At Fort Vancouver Dr. John McLoughlin lived 
and ruled in a manner befitting that of an old Eng- 
lish Baron in feudal times, but with a graciousness 
and courtesy, which, I fear, were not always the 
rule with the ancient Barons. Dr. McLoughlin 
was a very temperate man. He rarely drank any 
alcoholic beverages, not even wines. There was an 
exception one time, each year, when the festivities 
began at Fort Vancouver on the return of the 



32 Dr. John McLoughlin 

brigade, with the year's furs. He then drank a 
glass of wine to open the festivities. Soon after 
he came to Oregon, from morality and policy he 
stopped the sale of liquor to Indians. To do this 
effectually he had to stop the sale of liquor to all 
whites. In 1834, when Wyeth began his competi- 
tion with the Hudson's Bay Company, he began 
selling liquor to Indians, but at the request of Dr. 
McLoughlin, Wyeth stopped the sale of liquors to 
Indians as well as to the whites. In 1841 the 
American trading vessel Thomas Perkins, com- 
manded by Captain Varney, came to the Columbia 
River to trade, having a large quantity of liquors. 
To prevent the sale to the Indians, Dr. McLough- 
lin bought all these liquors and stored them at Fort 
Vancouver. They were still there when Dr. 
McLoughlin left the Hudson's Bay Company in 
1846. 

Dr. McLoughlin soon established numerous 
forts and posts in the Oregon Country, all of which 
were tributary to Fort Vancouver. In 1839 there 
were twenty of these forts besides Vancouver. 
The policy of the Hudson's Bay Company was to 
crush out all rivals in trade. It had an absolute 
monopoly of the fur trade of British America, ex- 
cept the British Provinces, under acts of Parlia- 
ment, and under royal grants. But in the Oregon 
Territory its right to trade therein was limited by 
the Conventions of 18 18 and 1827 and by the act of 
Parliament of July 2, 1821, to the extent that the 
Oregon Country (until one year's notice was 
given) should remain free and open to the citizens 
of the United States and to the subjects of Great 



Dr. John McLoughlin 33 

Britain, and the trade of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany should not "be used to the prejudice or exclu- 
sion of citizens of the United States engaged in 
such trade." ' Therefore, as there could be no 
legal exclusion of American citizens, it could be 
done only by occupying the country, building forts, 
establishing trade and friendly relations with the 
Indians, and preventing rivalry by the laws of 
trade, including ruinous competition. As the Hud- 
son's Bay Company bought its goods in large quan- 
tities in England, shipped by sea, and paid no im- 
port duties, it could sell at a profit at comparative- 
ly low prices. In addition, its goods were of extra 
good quality, usually much better than those of the 
American traders. It also desired to prevent the 
settling of the Oregon Country. The latter pur- 
pose was for two reasons : to preserve the fur trade; 
and to prevent the Oregon Country from being 
settled by Americans to the prejudice of Great 
Britain's claim to the Oregon Country. 

For more than ten years after Dr. McLoughlin 
came to Oregon, there was no serious competition 
to the Hudson's Bay Company in the Oregon 
Country west of the Blue Mountains. An occa- 
sional ship would come into the Columbia River 
and depart. At times, American fur traders en- 
tered into serious competition with the Hudson's 
Bay Company, east of the Blue Mountains. Such 
traders were Bonneville, Sublette, Smith, Jackson, 
and others. They could be successful, only partial- 
ly, against the competition of the Hudson's Bay 
Comipany. Goods were often sold by it at prices 

" See Docurr.ent C. 



34 Dr. John McLoughlin 

which could not be met by the American traders, 
except at a loss. Sometimes more was paid to the 
Indians for furs than they were worth. 

Dr. McLoughlin was the autocrat of the Ore- 
gon Country. His allegiance was to his Country 
and to his Company. He knew the Americans 
had the legal right to occupy any part of the Ore- 
gon Country, and he knew from the directors of 
his Company, as early as 1825, that Great Britain 
did not intend to claim any part of the Oregon 
Country south of the Columbia River. The only 
fort he established south of the Columbia River 
was on the Umpqua River. I do not wish to place 
Dr. McLoughlin on a pedestal, nor to represent 
him as more than a grand and noble man, ever 
true, as far as possible, to his Company's interests 
and to himself. To be faithless to his Company 
was to be a weakling and contemptible. But he 
was not a servant, nor was he untrue to his man- 
hood. As Chief Factor he was "Ay, every inch 
a King," but he was also ay, every inch a man. 
He was a very human, as well as a very humane 
man. He had a quick and violent temper. His 
position as Chief Factor and his continued use of 
power often made him dictatorial. And yet he 
was polite, courteous, gentle, and kind, and a gen- 
tleman. He was an autocrat, but not an aristo- 
crat. In 1838 Rev, Herbert Beaver, who was 
chaplain at Fort Vancouver, was impertinent to 
Dr. McLoughlin in the fort-yard. Immediately 
Dr. McLoughlin struck Beaver with a cane. The 
next day Dr. McLoughlin publicly apologized for 
this indignity. 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 35 

Punishment of Indians. 

The policy of the Company, as well as that of 
Dr. McLoughlin, was to keep Americans, espe- 
cially traders, out of all the Oregon Country. The 
difiference was that he believed that they should 
be kept out only so far as it could be done lawfully. 
But he did not allow them to be harmed by the 
Indians, and, if the Americans were so harmed, he 
punished the ofifending Indians, and he let all In- 
dians know that he would punish for offenses 
against the Americans as he would for offenses 
against the British and the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, Personally he treated these rival traders 
with hospitality. In his early years in Oregon on 
two occasions he caused an Indian to be hanged 
for murder of a white man. In 1829, when the 
Hudson's Bay Company's vessel, William and 
Ann, was wrecked on Sand Island, at the mouth 
of the Columbia River, and a part of her crew 
supposed to have been murdered and the wreck 
looted, he sent a well armed and manned schooner 
and a hundred voyageurs to punish the Indians. 

Jedediah S. Smith was a rival trader to the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. In 1828 all his party of 
eighteen men, excepting four, one of which was 
Smith, were murdered by the Indians, near the 
mouth of the Umpqua River. All their goods and 
furs were stolen. These four survivors arrived at 
Fort Vancouver, but not all together. They were 
all at the point of perishing from exhaustion and 
were nearly naked. All their wants were at once 
supplied, and they received the kindest treatment. 
When the first one arrived Dr. McLoughlin sent 



2^ Dr. John McLoughlin 

Indian runners to the Willamette chiefs to tell 
them to send their people in search of Smith and 
his two men, and if found to bring them to Fort 
Vancouver, and Dr. McLoughlin would pay the 
Indians; and also to tell these chiefs that if Smith, 
or his men, was hurt by the Indians, that Dr. 
McLoughlin would punish them. Dr. McLough- 
lin sent a strong party to the Umpqua River, which 
recovered these furs. They were of large value. 
Smith at his own instance sold these furs to the 
Hudson's Bay Company, receiving the fair value 
for the furs, without deduction. Dr. McLoughlin 
later said of this event that it "was done from a 
principle of Christian duty, and as a lesson to the 
Indians to show them they could not wrong the 
whites with impunity." The effect of this Smith 
matter was far-reaching and long-continued. The 
Indians understood, even if they did not appre- 
ciate, that the opposition of Dr. McLoughlin to 
Americans as traders did not apply to them per- 
sonally. 

Dunn, in his History of the Oregon Territory^ 
narrates the following incident:^ "On one occa- 
sion an American vessel. Captain Thompson, was 
in the Columbia, trading furs and salmon. The 
vessel had got aground, in the upper part of the 
river, and the Indians, from various quarters, 
mustered with the intent of cutting the Americans 
off, thinking that they had an opportunity of re- 
venge, and would thus escape the censure of the 

* John Dunn was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. He 
came from England to Fort Vancouver, in 1830, by sea. He returned 
to England in 1839 or 1840. The first edition of his history was pub- 
lished in London in 1844. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 37 

company. Dr. McLoughlin, the governor of Fort 
Vancouver, hearing of their intention, immediate- 
ly despatched a party to their rendezvous; and 
informed them that if they injured one American, 
it would be just the same ofifence as if they had 
injured one of his servants, and they would be 
treated equally as enemies. This stunned them; 
and they relinquished their purpose; and all re- 
tired to their respective homes. Had not this come 
to the governor's ears the Americans must have 
perished." 

In 1842 the Indians in the Eastern Oregon 
Country became alarmed for the reason that they 
believed the Americans intended to take away 
their lands. The Indians knew that the Hudson's 
Bay Company and its employees were traders and 
did not care for lands, except as incidental to trad- 
ing. At this time some of the Indians desired to 
raise a war party and surprise and massacre the 
American settlements in the Willamette Valley. 
This could have been done easily at that time. 
Through the influence of Dr. McLoughlin with 
Peopeomoxmox (Yellow Serpent), a chief of the 
Cayuses, this trouble was averted. In 1845 a party 
of Indians went to California to buy cattle. An 
American there killed Elijah, the son of Peopeo- 
moxmox. The Indians of Eastern Oregon threat- 
ened to take two thousand warriors to California 
and exterminate the whites there. Largely through 
the actions of Dr. McLoughlin the Indians were 
persuaded to abandon their project. 

John Minto, a pioneer of 1844, in an address 
February 6, 1889, narrated the following incident. 



38 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

In 1843 two Indians, for the purpose of robbery, at 
Pillar Rock, in the lower Columbia, killed a serv- 
ant of the Hudson's Bay Company. One of the 
Indians was killed in the pursuit. The other was 
taken, after great trouble. There was no doubt 
as to his guilt. In order to make the lesson of his 
execution salutary and impressive to the Indians, 
Dr. McLoughlin invited the leading Indians of 
the various tribes, as well as all classes of settlers 
and missionaries, to be present. He made the ar- 
rangements for the execution in a way best calcu- 
lated to strike terror to the Indian mind. When 
all was ready, and immediately prior to the execu- 
tion, with his white head bared, he made a short 
and earnest address to the Indians, showing them 
that the white men of all classes. Englishmen, 
Americans, and Frenchmen, were as one man to 
punish such crimes. In a technical sense Dr. 
McLoughlin had no authority to cause Indians 
to be executed or to compel them to restore stolen 
goods, as in the William and Ann matter and the 
Jedediah S. Smith case. 

Under the act of Parliament of July, 1821, the 
courts of judicature of Upper Canada were given 
jurisdiction of civil and criminal matters within 
the Indian territories and other parts of America 
not within the Provinces of Lower or Upper Can- 
ada, or of any civil government of the United 
States. Provisions were made for the appointment 
of justices of the peace in such territories, having 
jurisdiction of suits or actions not exceeding two 
hundred pounds, and having jurisdiction of or- 
dinary criminal offenses. But it was expressly 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 39 

provided that such justices of the peace should not 
have the right to try offenders on any charge of 
felony made the subject of capital punishment, or 
to pass sentence affecting the life of any offender, 
or his transportation; and that in case of any of- 
fense, subjecting the person committing the same 
to capital punishment or to transportation, to cause 
such offender to be sent, in safe custody, for trial 
in the court of the Province of Upper Canada. As 
to how far this law applied to Indians or to others 
than British subjects or to residents of the Oregon 
Country under joint-occupancy, it is not necessary 
here to discuss. It certainly did not apply to citi- 
zens of the United States. So far as I can learn. 
Dr. McLoughlin was never appointed such a jus- 
tice of the peace, but he caused his assistant James 
Douglas to be so appointed, at Fort Vancouver. 

As under joint-occupancy it was doubtful if 
either the laws of the United States or of Great 
Britain were in force in the Oregon Country, it 
was necessary for some one to assume supreme 
power and authority over the Indians, in the Wil- 
lamette Valley, until the Oregon Provisional Gov- 
ernment was established, and over the remainder 
of the Oregon Country, at least, until the boundary- 
line treaty was made. It was characteristic of Dr. 
McLoughlin that he assumed and exercised such 
power and authority, until he ceased to be an of- 
ficer of the Hudson's Bay Company. He did so 
without question. It is true that this might have 
been an odious tyranny under a different kind of 
a man. Under Dr. McLoughlin it was a kind of 
despotism, but a just and beneficent despotism, 



40 Dr. John McLoughlin 

under the circumstances. It was a despotism tem- 
pered by his sense of justice, his mercy, his human- 
ity, and his common-sense. No man in the Oregon 
Country ever knew the Indian character, or knew 
how to control and to manage Indians as well as 
Dr. McLoughlin did. The few severe and ex- 
treme measures he took with them as individuals 
and as tribes were always fully justified by the cir- 
cumstances. To have been more lenient might 
have been fatal to his Company, its employees, 
and the early white settlers in the Oregon Country. 
They were of the few cases where the end justifies 
the means. The unusual conditions justified the 
unusual methods. 

The Oregon Provisional Government was not a 
government in the true meaning of the word, it 
was a local organization, for the benefit of those 
consenting. It had no true sovereignty. And yet 
it punished offenders. It waged the Cayuse In- 
dian war of 1847-8, caused by the Whitman mas- 
sacre. It would have executed the murderers if it 
had caught them, although the scenes of the mas- 
sacre and of the war were several hundred miles 
beyond the asserted jurisdiction of the Oregon Pro- 
visional Government. And it would have been 
justified in case of such executions. The war was 
a necessity, law or no law. Every act of punitive 
or vindicatory justice to the Indians by Dr. 
McLoughlin is greatly to his credit. These acts 
caused peace in the Oregon Country and were 
beneficial to the Indians as well as to the whites, 
both British and American, and, in the end, prob- 
ably saved numerous massacres and hundreds of 



Dr. John McLoughlin 41 

lives. Dr. McLoughlin was a very just and far- 
seeing man. I shall presently tell how Dr. 
McLoughlin saved the immigrants of 1843 from 
great trouble and probable massacre by the In- 
dians. 

Early French Canadian Settlers. 

After the death of Dr. McLoughlin there was 
found among his private papers a document in his 
own handwriting. This was probably written 
shortly prior to his death. It gives many interest- 
ing facts, some of which I shall presently set forth. 
This document was given to Col. J. W. Nesmith 
by a descendant of Dr. McLoughlin. It was pre- 
sented to the Oregon Pioneer Association by Col. 
Nesmith in 1880. It was printed at length in the 
Transactions of that Association for that year, 
pages 46-55. I shall hereinafter refer to this docu- 
ment as "the McLoughlin Document." In the 
McLoughlin Document he says: "In 1825, from 
what I had seen of the country, I formed the con- 
clusion, from the mildness and salubrity of the cli- 
mate, that this was the finest portion of North 
America that I had seen for the residence of civil- 
ized man." The farm at Fort Vancouver showed 
that the wheat was of exceptionally fine quality. 
Dr. McLoughlin knew that where wheat grew 
well and there was a large enough area, that it 
would become a civilized country, especially 
where there was easy access to the ocean. Thus 
early he saw that what is now called Western Ore- 
gon was bound to be a populous country. It was 
merely a question of time. It was evidently with 



42 Dr. John McLoughlin 

this view that he located his land claim at Oregon 
City in 1829. If settlers came he could endeavor 
to have them locate in the Willamette Valley, and 
thus preserve, to a great extent, the fur animals 
in other parts of the Oregon Country, and especial- 
ly north of the Columbia River. 

The Hudson's Bay Company was bound, under 
heavy penalties, not to discharge any of its serv- 
ants in the Indian country, and was bound to re- 
turn them to the places where they were originally 
hired. As early as 1828 several French Canadian 
servants, or employees, whose times of service were 
about ended, did not desire to return to Canada, 
but to settle in Oregon. They disliked to settle in 
the Willamette Valley, notwithstanding its fertil- 
ity and advantages, because they thought that ulti- 
mately it would be American territory, but Dr. 
McLoughlin told them that he knew "that the 
American Government and people knew only two 
classes of persons, rogues and honest men. That 
they punished the first and protected the last, and 
it depended only upon themselves to what class 
they would belong." Dr. McLoughlin later found 
out, to his own sorrow and loss, that he was in error 
in this statement. These French Canadians fol- 
lowed his advice. To allow these French Cana- 
dians to become settlers, he kept them nominally 
on the books of the Hudson's Bay Company as its 
servants. He made it a rule to allow none of these 
servants to become settlers unless he possessed fifty 
pounds sterling to start with. He loaned each of 
them seed and wheat to plant, to be returned from 
the produce of his farm, and sold him implements 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 43 

and supplies at fifty per cent, advance on prime 
London cost. The regular selling price at Fort 
Vancouver was eighty per cent, advance on prime 
London cost. Dr. McLoughlin also loaned each 
of these settlen two cows, the increase to belong to 
the Hudson's Bay Company, as it then had only 
a small herd, and he wished to increase the herd. 
If any of the cows died, he did not make the set- 
tler pay for the animal. If he had sold the cattle 
the Company could not supply other settlers, and 
the price would be prohibitive, if owned by set- 
tlers who could afford to buy, as some settlers of- 
fered him as high as two hundred dollars for a 
cow. Therefore, to protect the poor settlers against 
the rich, and to make a herd of cattle for the 
benefit of the whole country, he refused to sell to 
any one. 

In 1825 Dr. McLoughlin had at Fort Van- 
couver only twenty-seven head of cattle, large and 
small. He determined that no cattle should be 
killed, except one bull-calf every year for rennet 
to make cheese, until he had an ample stock to 
meet all demands of his Company, and to assist 
settlers, a resolution to which he strictly adhered. 
The first animal killed for beef was in 1838. Until 
that time the Company's officers and employees 
had lived on fresh and salt venison and salmon and 
wild fowl. 

In August 1839, the expedition of Sir Edward 
Belcher was at Fort Vancouver. Dr. McLough- 
lin was not then at Fort Vancouver. He probably 
had not returned from his trip to England in 
i83^"9- James Douglas was in charge. Although 



44 -C)r. John McLoughlin 

the latter supplied Sir Edward Belcher and his 
officers with fresh beef, Douglas declined to fur- 
nish a supply of fresh beef for the crew, because 
he did not deem it prudent to kill so many cattle. 
Sir Edward Belcher complained of this to the 
British government.'' Dr. McLoughlin gave the 
American settlers, prior to 1842, the same terms 
as he gave to the French Canadian settlers. But 
some of these early American settlers were much 
incensed at the refusal of Dr. McLoughlin to sell 
the cattle, although they accepted the loan of the 
cows. It has been asserted that Dr. McLoughlin 
intended to maintain a monopoly in cattle. But 
if that was his intention, as he refused to sell, where 
was to be the profit? The Hudson's Bay Company 
was a fur-trading Company. It was not a cattle- 
dealing Company. If Dr. McLoughlin intended 
to create a monopoly, he himself assisted to break 
it. That such was not his intention is shown by his 
helping the settlers to procure cattle from Cali- 
fornia in 1836. 

In 1836 a company was formed to go to Cali- 
fornia to buy cattle and drive them to Oregon 
overland. About twenty-five hundred dollars v/as 
raised for this purpose, of which amount Dr. 
McLoughlin, for the Hudson's Bay Company, 
subscribed about half. The number of cattle 
which were thus brought to Oregon was six hun- 
dred and thirty, at a cost of about eight dollars a 
head. In the McLoughlin Document he says : "In 
the Willamette the settlers kept the tame and 
broken-in oxen they had, belonging to the Hud- 

* Belcher's Narrative of a Voyage Round the World, vol. i, p. 296. 



Dr. John McLouj^hlin 45 

son's Bay Company, and gave their California 
wild cattle in the place, so that they found them- 
selves stocked with tame cattle which cost them 
only eight dollars a head, and the Hudson's Bay 
Company, to favor the settlers, took calves in place 
of grown up cattle, because the Hudson's Bay 
Company wanted them for beef. These calves 
would grow up before they were required." 

Early American Traders and Travellers. 

In 1832 Nathaniel J. Wyeth of Cambridge, 
Massachusetts, came overland with a small party, 
expecting to meet in the Columbia River, a vessel 
with supplies, to compete with the Hudson's Bay 
Company. The vessel was wrecked in the South 
Pacific Ocean. She and the cargo were a total loss. 
This party arrived at Fort Vancouver in a desti- 
tute condition. Although Dr. McLoughlin knew 
they came as competing traders, he welcomed them 
cordially, supplied their necessities on their credit, 
and gave Wyeth a seat at his own table. In 
Wyeth's Journal of this expedition he says, under 
date of October 29, 1832: "Arrived at the fort of 
Vancouver. . . . Here I was received with the 
utmost kindness and hospitality by Dr. McLough- 
lin, the acting Governor of the place. 
Our people were supplied with food and shelter. 
. . . I find Dr. McLoughlin a fine old gen- 
tleman, truly philanthropic in his ideas. . 
The gentlemen of this Company do much credit 
to their country by their education, deportment, 
and talents. . . . The Company seem disposed 
to render me all the assistance they can." Wyeth 



46 Dr. John McLoufrhlin 

was most hospitably entertained by Dr. McLough- 
lin until February 3, 1833, when Wyeth left Van- 
couver for his home overland. He was accom- 
panied by three of his men, the others staying at 
Fort Vancouver. In his Journal under date Feb- 
ruary 3, 1833, he says: "I parted with feelings of 
sorrow from the gentlemen of Fort Vancouver. 
Their unremitting kindness to me while there 
much endeared them to me, more so than would 
seem possible during so short a time. Dr. 
McLoughlin, the Governor of the place, is a man 
distinguished as much for his kindness and hu- 
manity as his good sense and information; and to 
whom I am so much indebted as that he will never 
be forgotten by me." Dr. McLoughlin assisted 
the men of Wyeth's expedition who stayed, to join 
the Willamette settlement. He furnished them 
seed and supplies and agreed that they would be 
paid the same price for their wheat as was paid to 
the French Canadian settlers, i.e., three shillings, 
sterling, per bushel, and that they could purchase 
their supplies from the Hudson's Bay Company 
at fifty per cent, advance on prime London cost. 
This is said to have been equivalent to paying one 
dollar and twenty-five cents a bushel for wheat, 
with supplies at customary prices. 

In 1834 Wyeth again came overland to the 
Columbia River with a large party. On the way 
he established Fort Hall (now in Idaho) in direct 
opposition to the Hudson's Bay Company, .is he 
had a perfect right to do. He and his party arrived 
at Fort Vancouver September 14, 1834, ^^^ were 
hospitably received by Dr. McLoughlin and the 



Dr. John McLoughlin 47 

other gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
In Wyeth's Journal of his second expedition he 
says, under date of September 14, 1834: "Arrived 
at Vancouver, where I found Dr. McLoughlin in 
charge, who received us in his usual manner. He 
has here power, and uses it as a man should, to 
make those about him, and those who come in 
contact with him, comfortable and happy." The 
brig May Dacre, with Wyeth's supplies, was then 
in the Columbia River. Immediately on his ar- 
rival, Wyeth started in active competition with 
the Hudson's Bay Company. He established a 
post, which he named Fort William, on Wappatoo 
Island (now Sauvie's Island). He forwarded 
supplies and men to Fort Hall. It was the begin- 
ning of a commercial war between the two com- 
panies, but it was a warfare on honorable lines. 
In the end Wyeth was beaten by Dr. McLoughlin, 
and sold out his entire establishment to the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. While Dr. McLoughlin was 
personally courteous to Wyeth and his employees, 
he did not and would not be false or untrue to the 
business interests of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
For Dr. McLoughlin to have acted otherwise than 
he did, would have shown him to be unfit to hold 
his position as Chief Factor. Wyeth was too big, 
and too capable a man not to understand this. In 
his Journal, under date of September 31, 1834, (he 
evidently forgot that September has but thirty 
days) he says: "From this time until the 13th Oct. 
making preparations for a campaign into the Snake 
country and arrived on the 13th at Vancouver and 
was received with great attention by all there." 



48 Dr. John McLoughlin 

And under date of February 12, 1835, he says: 
"In the morning made to Vancouver and found 
there a polite reception." ^^ Wyeth was a man of 
great ability, enterprise, and courage. His expedi- 
tions deserved better fates. He was a high-minded 
gentleman. Although his two expeditions were 
failures, he showed his countrymen the way to 
Oregon, which many shortly followed. 

In the McLoughlin Document he says: "In 
justice to Mr. Wyeth I have great pleasure to be 
able to state that as a rival in trade, I found him 
open, manly, frank, and fair. And, in short, in 
all his contracts, a perfect gentleman and an hon- 
est man, doing all he could to support morality 
and encouraging industry in the settlement." It 
is pleasing to know that after all his hardships and 
misfortunes Wyeth established a business for the 
exportation of ice from Boston to Calcutta, which 
was a great financial success. 

Rev. H. K. Hines, D.D., was a Methodist min- 
ister who came to Oregon in 1853. He was a 
brother of Rev. Gustavus Hines, the Methodist 
missionary, who came to Oregon in 1840, on the 
ship Lausanne. December 10, 1897, at Pendleton, 
Oregon, Rev. Dr. Hines delivered one of the finest 
tributes to Dr. McLoughlin that I know of. He 
was fully capable to do it, for he was a profound 
and scholarly student of Oregon history, and per- 
sonally knew Dr. McLoughlin. His address 
should be read by everyone. In his address Rev. 
Dr. Hines said, speaking in regard to the failure 

^^ As to the high regard which Wyeth retained through his life 
for Dr. McLoughlin, see Docuir.ent O. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 49 

of the enterprises of Wyeth, Bonneville, and other 
fur traders in opposition to the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany: "My own conclusion, after a lengthy and 
laborious investigation, the result I have given 
here in bare outlines, is that Dr. McLoughlin 
acted the part only of an honorable, high-minded, 
and loyal man in his relation with the American 
traders who ventured to dispute with him the com- 
mercial dominion of Oregon up to 1835 or 1837." 
When Wyeth left Oregon in 1835, he left on the 
Columbia River a number of men. These, too, 
were assisted by Dr. McLoughlin to join the Wil- 
lamette River settlements. They were given the 
same terms as to prices of wheat and on supplies 
as he had given to the French Canadian, and to the 
other American settlers. In assisting these men 
whom Wyeth left on his two expeditions. Dr. 
McLoughlin was actuated by two motives. The 
first was humanitarian; the second was the desir- 
ability, if not necessity, of not having men, little 
accustomed to think or to plan for themselves, 
roaming the country, and possibly, some of them, 
becoming vagabonds. It was liable to be danger- 
ous for white men to join Indian tribes and become 
leaders. With great wisdom and humanity he 
made them settlers, which gave them every induce- 
ment to be industrious and to be law abiding. 

John K. Townsend, the naturalist, accompanied 
by Nuttall, the botanist, crossed the plains in 1834 
with Captain Wyeth. In 1839 Townsend pub- 
lished a book entitled, "Narrative of a Journey 
across the Rocky Mountains," etc. On page 169 
he says: "On the beach in front of the fort, we 



50 Dr. John McLoughlin 

were met by Mr. Lee, the missionary, and Dr. 
John McLoughlin, the Chief Factor, and Gov- 
ernor of the Hudson's Bay posts in this vicinity. 
The Dr. is a large, dignified and very noble look- 
ing man, with a fine expressive countenance, and 
remarkably bland and pleasing manners. The 
Missionary introduced Mr. N. [Nuttall] and my- 
self in due form, and we were greeted and received 
with a frank and unassuming politeness which was 
most peculiarly grateful to our feelings. He re- 
quested us to consider his house our home, pro- 
vided a separate room for our use, a servant to 
wait upon us, and furnished us with every conven- 
ience which we could possibly wish for. I shall 
never cease to feel grateful to him for his disin- 
terested kindness to the poor, houseless, and travel- 
worn strangers." And on page 263 he said: "I 
took leave of Doctor McLoughlin with feelings 
akin to those with which I should bid adieu to an 
affectionate parent; and to his fervent, 'God bless 
you, sir, and may you have a happy meeting with 
your friends,' I could only reply by a look of the 
sincerest gratitude. Words are inadequate to ex- 
press my deep sense of the obligations which I 
feel under to this truly generous and excellent man, 
and I fear I can only repay them by the sincerity 
with which I shall always cherish the recollection 
of his kindness, and the ardent prayers I shall 
breathe for his prosperity and happiness." 

The only persons who were not cordially re- 
ceived by Dr. McLoughlin were Ewing Young 
and Hall J. Kelley, who came to Fort Vancouver 
in October, 1834, from California. Gov. Figu- 



Dr. John McLoughiin 51 

eroa, the Governor of California, had written Dr. 
McLoughlin that Young and Kelley had stolen 
horses from settlers in California. Dr. McLough- 
lin told them of the charges, and that he would 
have nothing to do with them until the informa- 
tion was shown to be false. This was not done 
until long afterwards, when it was shown that 
neither Young nor Kelley was guilty, but that 
some of their party, with which they started to 
Oregon, were guilty, and were disreputable char- 
acters, which Young and Kelley knew. The stand 
taken by Dr. McLoughlin was the only proper 
one. He had official information from California. 
Fort Vancouver was not an asylum for horse 
thieves. Nevertheless, as Kelley was sick, Dr. 
McLoughlin provided Kelley with a house, such 
as was occupied by the servants of the Company, 
outside the fort, furnished him with an attendant, 
and supplied him with medical aid and all neces- 
sary comforts until March, 1835, when Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin gave Kelley free passage to the Hawai- 
ian Islands on the Hudson's Bay Company's ves- 
sel, the Dryad, and also presented Kelley with a 
draft for seven pounds sterling, payable at the 
Hawaiian Islands. On his return home, Kelley, 
instead of being grateful, most vigorously attacked 
the Hudson's Bay Company for its alleged abuses 
of American citizens, and abused Dr. McLough- 
lin and falsely stated that Dr. McLoughlin had 
been so alarmed with the dread that Kelley would 
destroy the Hudson's Bay Company's trade that 
Dr. McLoughlin had kept a constant watch over 
Kelley. 



52 Dr. John McLoughlin 

Kelley was a Boston school teacher who became 
an Oregon enthusiast. From the year i8ic, when 
he was twenty-six years of age, for many years, he 
wrote and published pamphlets and also a few 
books on Oregon and its advantages as a country to 
live in. He originated a scheme to send a colony 
to Oregon; to build a city on the east side of the 
Willamette River, at its junction with the Colum- 
bia River; and to build another city on the north 
side of the Columbia River, nearly opposite 
Tongue Point. His eftorts resulted in immediate 
failures. He died a disappointed man. Young 
was a type of a man who. was often successful in 
the Far West. He was forceful and self-reliant, 
but often reckless, and sometimes careless of ap- 
pearances. He was so accustomed to meet emer- 
gencies successfully that he did not always con- 
sider what others might think of him and of the 
methods he sometimes felt compelled to adopt. 
He had been robbed in California of a large 
amount of furs and had not been fairly treated by 
the representatives of the Mexican Government 
in California. While Young was an adventurer, 
he was a man of ability and became a leading 
resident of early Oregon. The relations of Dr. 
McLoughlin and Ewing Young finally became 
quite amicable, for Dr. McLoughlin learned of 
and respected Young's good and manly qualities. 

Presbyterian Missionaries. 

For convenience I shall first mention the Pres- 
byterian missionaries, although they came two 
years later than the first Methodist missionaries. 



Dr. John McLoughlin $2 

Rev. Samuel Parker was the first Presbyterian min- 
ister to arrive in Oregon. He came in 1835. ^^ 
started to Oregon with Doctor Marcus Whitman, 
but Whitman returned East from Green River to 
obtain more associates for the Mission. These came 
out with Dr. Whitman in 1836. Parker returned 
home by sea, reaching his home in 1837. Parker 
published a book called, "Journal of an Exploring 
Tour beyond the Rocky Mountains." The first 
edition was published in Ithaca, New York, in 
1838. On page 138 of his book he says: "At two 
in the afternoon, arrived at Fort Vancouver, and 
never did I feel more joyful to set my feet on 
shore, where I expected to find a hospitable people 
and the comforts of life. Doct. J. McLoughlin, 
a chief factor and superintendent of this fort and 
of the business of the Company west of the Rocky 
Mountains, received me with many expressions 
of kindness, and invited me to make his residence 
my home for the Winter, and as long as it would 
suit my convenience. Never could such an invi- 
tation be more thankfully received." On page 158 
he says: "Here, [Fort Vancouver] by the kind in- 
vitation of Dr. McLoughlin, and welcomed by the 
other gentlemen of the Hudson Bay Company, I 
took up my residence for the winter." And on 
page 263 he says: "Monday, nth April [1836]. 
Having made arrangements to leave this place on 
the 14th, I called upon the chief clerk for my bill. 
He said the Company had made no bill against 
me, but felt a pleasure in gratuitously conferring 
all they have done for the benefit of the object in 
which I am engaged. In justice to my own feel- 



54 Dr. John McLoughlin 

ings, and in gratitude to the Honorable Company, 
I would bear testimony to their consistent polite- 
ness and generosity; and while I do this, I would 
express my anxiety for their salvation, and that 
they may be rewarded in spiritual blessings. In 
addition to the civilities I had received as a guest, 
I had drawn upon their store for clothing, for 
goods to pay my Indians, whom I had employed 
to convey me in canoes, in my various journeyings, 
hundreds of miles; to pay my guides and inter- 
preters; and have drawn upon their provision store 
for the support of these men while in my employ." 
In 1836 Dr. Marcus Whitman came to Oregon. 
With him came his wife. Rev. Henry H. Spalding 
and wife, and W. H. Gray, a layman. They arrived 
at Fort Vancouver September i, 1836. Here they 
were most hospitably entertained by Dr. Mc- 
liOughlin and the other gentlemen of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, and all necessary and convenient 
assistance to these missionaries was freely given. 
When these missionaries arrived at Vancouver, 
they had hardly more than the clothes they had 
on. They concluded to locate one mission near 
Waiilatpu, near the present city of Walla Walla, 
Washington; and another at Lapwai, near the pres- 
ent city of Lewiston, Idaho. Mrs. Whitman and 
Mrs. Spalding remained at Fort Vancouver for 
several months, while their husbands and Gray 
were erecting the necessary houses at the Missions. 

Methodist Missions and Missionaries. 

With Wyeth's second expedition, in 1834, came 
the first Methodist missionaries: Rev. Jason Lee, 



Dr. John McLou^hlin S5 

Rev. Daniel Lee, his nephew, and the following 
laymen: Cyrus Shepard, a teacher; P. L. Ed- 
wards, a teacher; and a man named Walker. They 
arrived at Fort Vancouver September 17, 1834. 
They were also hospitably received by Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin, and treated with every consideration 
and kindness. On Dr. McLoughlin's invitation 
Jason Lee preached at Fort Vancouver. Boats and 
men were furnished by Dr. McLoughlin to the 
missionaries to explore the country and select a 
proper place for the establishment of their Mis- 
sion. In the McLoughlin Document, he says: "In 
1834, Messrs. Jason and Daniel Lee, and Messrs. 
Walker and P. L. Edwards came with Mr. Wyeth 
to establish a Mission in the Flat-head country. 
I observed to them that it was too dangerous for 
them to establish a Mission [there] ; that to do 
good to the Indians, they must establish themselves 
where they could collect them around them; teach 
them first to cultivate the ground and live more 
comfortably than they do by hunting, and as they 
do this, teach them religion; that the Willamette 
afiorded them a fine field, and that they ought to 
go there, and they would get the same assistance 
as the settlers. They followed my advice and went 
to the Willamette." 

Rev. Dr. H. K. Hines published a book in 1899 
entitled, "Missionary History of the Pacific 
Northwest." While, as is to be expected. Dr. 
Hines' book is biased in favor of the Methodist 
missionaries, and Jason Lee is his hero, neverthe- 
less, he has endeavored to be fair and just to all. 
In this "Missionary History," page 92, Dr. Hines 



56 Dr. John McLoughlin 

says: "It was no accident, nor, yet, was it any in- 
fluence that Dr. McLoughlin or any other man or 
men had over him [Jason Lee] that determined 
his choice [of a site for the Mission]. It was his 
own clear and comprehensive statesmanship. Mr. 
Lee was not a man of hasty impulse. . . . This 
nature did not play him false in the selection of the 
site of his Mission." And on pages 452, 453, he 
says: "Some writers have believed, or affected to 
believe, that the advice of Dr. McLoughlin both to 
Mr. Lee in 1834, and to the missionaries of the 
American Board in 1836, was for the purpose of 
pushing them to one side, and putting them out 
of the way of the Hudson's Bay Company, so that 
they could not interfere with its purposes, nor put 
any obstacle in the way of the ultimate British 
occupancy of Oregon. Such writers give little 
credit to the astuteness of Dr. McLoughlin, or to 
the intelligence and independence of the mission- 
aries of the American Board. Had such been the 
purpose of Dr. McLoughlin, or had he been a 
man capable of devising a course of action so ad- 
verse to the purposes for which his guests were in 
the country, he certainly would not have advised 
them to establish their work in the very centers of 
the great region open to their choice. This he did, 
as we believe, honestly and honorably." 

Jason Lee selected, as the original site of the 
Methodist Mission, a place on French Prairie, 
about ten miles north of the present city of Salem. 
When he and his party were ready to leave for 
their new home. Dr. McLoughlin placed at their 
disposal a boat and crew to transport the mission 



Dr. John McLoughlin 57 

goods from the May Dacre, Wyeth's vessel, on 
which their goods had come, to the new Mission. 
He loaned them seven oxen, one bull, and seven 
cows with their calves. The moving of these goods 
and cattle to the Mission required several days. 
He also provided and manned a boat to convey the 
missionaries, personally. In his diary, Jason Lee 
says : "After dinner embarked in one of the Com- 
pany's boats, kindly manned for us by Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin, who has treated us with the utmost at- 
tention, politeness and liberality." ^^ 

March i, 1836, Dr. McLoughlin and the other 
officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, all British 
subjects, sent to Jason Lee, for the benefit of the 
Methodist Mission, a voluntary gift of one hun- 
dred and thirty dollars, accompanied by the fol- 
lowing letter: 

"Fort Vancouver, ist March, 1836. 
"The Rev. jASON Lee, 

"Dear Sir: 
"I do myself the pleasure to hand you the en- 
closed subscription, which the gentlemen who 
have signed it request you will do them the favor 
to accept for the use of the Mission; and they 
pray our Heavenly Father, without whose assist- 
ance we can do nothing, that of his infinite mercy 
he will vouchsafe to bless and prosper your 
pious endeavors, and believe me to be, with esteem 
and regard, your sincere well-wisher and humble 
servant. 

"John McLoughlin." ^^ 

^^ See Document D. 

^^Rev. Gustavus Hines, History of Oregon, p. i6. 



58 Dr. John McLoughlin 

From its beginning, and for several years after, 
the successful maintenance of the Methodist Mis- 
sion in Oregon was due to the friendly attitude and 
assistance of Dr. McLoughlin and of the other of- 
ficers of the Hudson's Bay Company in Oregon. 
Without these the Mission must have ceased to 
exist. This applies also to the successful mainte- 
nance of all other missions in the Oregon Country 
in the same period of time.^^ 

In May, 1837, an addition to the Methodist Mis- 
sion arrived at Vancouver. It consisted of eight 
adults and three children. Of these three were 
men, one of whom was Dr. Elijah White, the Mis- 
sion physician ; five were women, one of whom was 
Anna Maria Pittman, whom Jason Lee soon mar- 
ried. In September, 1837, the ship Sumatra ar- 
rived at Fort Vancouver loaded with goods for 
the Methodist Mission. The Sumatra also brought 
four more missionaries, two men, two women, and 
three children. Rev. David Leslie and wife were 
two of these missionaries. All these missionaries 
were entertained by Dr. McLoughlin, and pro- 
vided with comfortable quarters at Fort Van- 
couver. 

In March, 1838, Rev. Jason Lee left for the 
Eastern States, overland, on business for the Mis- 
sion. His wife died June 26, 1838, three weeks 
after the birth and death of their son. Immedi- 
ately on her death Dr. McLoughlin sent an ex- 
press to overtake and tell Jason Lee of these sad 
events. The express reached Jason Lee about Sep- 
tember I, 1838, at Pawnee Mission, near West- 
port, Missouri. ^^ From this act alone could any- 

" Dr. H. K. Hines, Missionary History, p. 90. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 59 

one doubt that Dr. McLoughlin was a sympa- 
thetic, kind, thoughtful, and considerate man? Or 
think that Jason Lee would ever forget? Later, 
in 1838 Dr. McLoughlin made a trip to London, 
returning to Fort Vancouver in 1839. 

While Jason Lee was on this trip to the Eastern 
States, the Missionary Board was induced to raise 
$42,000 to provide for sending thirty-six adults, 
and sixteen children, and a cargo of goods and sup- 
plies, on the ship Lausanne, to Oregon for the 
Methodist Mission. Among these new mission- 
aries were Rev. Alvan F. Waller, Rev. Gustavus 
Hines, and George Abernethy, a lay member, who 
was to be steward o{ the Mission and to have 
charge of all its secular affairs. This party of mis- 
sionaries, who came on the Lausanne, are often re- 
ferred to as "The great re-inforcement." The 
Lausanne, with its precious and valuable cargoes, 
arrived at Fort Vancouver June i, 1840. As soon 
as Dr. McLoughlin knew of her arrival in the 
Columbia River, he sent fresh bread, butter, milk, 
and vegetables for the passengers and crew. At 
Fort Vancouver he supplied rooms and provisions 
for the whole missionary party, about fifty-three 
people. This party remained as his guests, accept- 
ing his hospitality, for about two weeks.^' Shortly 
after some of this missionary party were endeavor- 
ing to take for themselves Dr. McLoughlin's land 
claim at Oregon City. The Lausanne was the last 
missionary vessel to come to Oregon. 

Why this large addition to the Oregon Mission, 



^* Rev. Gustavus Hines, History of the Oregon Missions, pp. 31, 32; 
Dr. H. K. Hines, Missionary History, p. 156. 

^' Lee and Frost's Ten Years in Oregon, pp. 225, 226. 



6o Dr. John McLoughlin 

and these quantities of supplies, were sent, and this 
great expense incurred, has never been satisfac- 
torily explained. It seems to have been the result 
of unusual, but ill-directed, religious fervor and 
zeal. The Methodist Oregon Mission was then, so 
far as converting the Indians, a failure. It was 
not the fault of the early missionaries. Until 1840 
they labored hard and zealously. The Indians 
would not be converted, or, if converted, stay con- 
verted. Their numbers had been greatly reduced 
by the epidemics of 1829-32, and the numbers 
were still being rapidly reduced. And why the 
necessity of such secular business as a part of a 
mission to convert Indians to Christianity? ^® The 
failure to convert the Indians was because they 
were Indians. Their language was simple and re- 
lated almost wholly to material things. They had 
no ethical, no spiritual words. They had no need 
for such. They had no religion of their own, 
worthy of the name, to be substituted for a better 
or a higher one. They had no religious instincts, 
no religious tendencies, no religious traditions. 
The male Indians would not perform manual 
labor -that was for women and slaves. The reli- 
gion of Christ and the religion of Work go hand 
in hand. 

Rev. Dr. H. K. Hines, in his Missionary His- 
tory^ after setting forth certain traits of the In- 
dians and the failures of the Methodist mission- 
aries to convert them, says (p. 402) : "So on the 
Northwest Coast. The course and growth of a 
history whose beginnings cannot be discovered had 

^^ See Documents E and F. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 6i 

ended only in the production of the degraded tribes 
among whom the most consecrated and ablest mis- 
sionary apostleship the Church of Christ had sent 
out for centuries made almost superhuman efforts 
to plant the seed of the 'eternal life.' As a people 
they gave no fruitful response." And, on page 
476, he says: "Indeed, after Dr. Whitman reha- 
bilitated his mission in the autumn of 1843, the 
work of that station lost much of its character as 
an Indian mission. It became rather a resting 
place and trading post, where the successive im- 
migrations of i844-'45-'46 and '47 halted for a 
little recuperation after their long and weary jour- 
ney, before they passed forward to the Willamette. 
This was inevitable." And on page 478 Dr. Hines 
says that Dr. McLoughlin "advised Dr. Whitman 
to remove from among the Cayuses, as he believed 
not only that he could no longer be useful to them, 
but that his life was in danger if he remained 
among them." 

J. Quinn Thornton in his "History of the Pro- 
visional Government of Oregon," ^^ says : "In the 
autumn of 1840 there were in Oregon thirty-six 
American male settlers, twenty-five of whom had 
taken native women for their wives. There were 
also thirty-three American women, thirty-two chil- 
dren, thirteen lay members of the Protestant Mis- 
sions, thirteen Methodist ministers, six Congrega- 
tional ministers, three Jesuit priests, and sixty 
Canadian-French, making an aggregate of one 
hundred and thirty-six Americans, and sixty-three 
Canadian-French [including the priests in the lat- 

^' Transactions Oregon Pioneer Association for 1875, P- 45- 



62 Dr. John McLoughlin 

ter class] having no connection as employees of the 
Hudson's Bay Company. [This estimate includes 
the missionaries who arrived on the Lausanne.] 
I have said that the population outside of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company increased slowly. Flow much 
so, will be seen by the fact that up to the beginning 
of the year 1842, there were in Oregon no more 
than twenty-one Protestant ministers, three Jesuit 
priests, fifteen lay members of Protestant churches, 
thirty-four white women, thirty-two white chil- 
dren, thirty-four American settlers, twenty-five of 
whom had native wives. The total American pop- 
ulation will thus be seen to have been no more than 
one hundred and thirty-nine." (This was prior to 
the arrival of the immigration of 1842.) 

In his Missionary History Rev. Dr. Hines says 
(page 249) that in 1841 and 1842, prior to the 
arrival of the immigration of 1842, the Oregon 
Methodist Mission "comprised nearly all the 
American citizens of the country." And on page 
239 he says: "Up to 1840 it [the Methodist Mis- 
sion] had been entirely an Indian Mission. After 
that date it began to take on the character of an 
American colony, though it did not lay aside its 
missionary character or purpose." He also says 
that in 1840 there were only nine Methodist min- 
isters in the Oregon mission. Some of the lay 
members, of which J. L. Parrish was one, became 
ministers, which probably accounts for the dif- 
ference in the estimates of Thornton and of Dr. 
Hines. In the summer of 1843 Rev. Jason Lee 
was removed, summarily, as Superintendent of the 
Oregon Methodist Mission by the Missionary 




Dr. John McLoughlin 

Taken from a miniature of Dr. John Mchoughlin painted on i'vory. This 
miniature ivas probably painted in iSjS or /Sjg, ivhen he ivas in London. The 
original miniature belongs to the luidoiv of James fV. McL. Hari'ey, noiv liinng at 
Aiirabel, California. Her husband ivas a grandson of Dr. AlcLoughlin. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 63 

Board in New York, and Rev. George Gary was 
appointed in his place, with plenary powers to 
close the Mission, if he should so elect. He closed 
the Mission in 1844. 

When the Lausanne arrived June i, 1840, Dr. 
McLoughlin's power and fortunes were almost at 
their highest point. During his residence of six- 
teen years in the Oregon Country he had estab- 
lished the business of his Company beyond all 
question, and to the entire satisfaction of its board 
of directors. The Indians were peaceable and 
were friendly and obedient to him and to his Com- 
pany. He was respected and liked by all its offi- 
cers, servants, and employees. With them he was 
supreme in every way, without jealousy and with- 
out insubordination. He had become, for those 
days, a rich rnan, his salary was twelve thousand 
dollars a year, and his expenses were compara- 
tively small. He was then fifty-six years old. He 
had prepared to end his days in Oregon on his 
land claim. His children had reached the age of 
manhood and womanhood. Few men at his age 
have a pleasanter, or more reasonable expectation 
of future happiness than he then had. 

The half-tone portrait of Dr. McLoughlin, 
shown facing page 62, was taken from a miniature, 
painted on ivory, in London, probably when he 
was in London in 1838-9. It portrays Dr. 
McLoughlin as he was in his happy days. This 
miniature now belongs to the widow of James W. 
McL. Harvey, who was a grandson of Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin. It was kindly loaned by her so that the 
half-tone could be made for use in this address. 



64 Dr. John McLoughlin 

Provisional Government. 

For convenience I shall tell of the. Provisional 
Government of Oregon before I speak concerning 
Dr. McLoughlin's land claim. 

About 1 841, ovs^ing to the death of Ewing Young, 
intestate, leaving a valuable estate and no heirs, 
the residents of the Oregon Country in the Wil- 
lamette Valley saw the necessity of some form of 
government until the Oregon Question should be 
finally settled. As under the Conventions of 18 18 
and 1827 there was joint-occupancy between the 
United States and Great Britain, the Oregon Coun- 
try was without any laws in force. It was common- 
ly understood, at that time, that most of the Amer- 
icans in Oregon favored a provisional organiza- 
tion - one which would exist until the laws of the 
United States should be extended over the Ore- 
gon Country. It was also commonly understood 
that the British residents in Oregon opposed a 
provisional government, as it might interfere with 
their allegiance to Great Britain. As there was a 
joint-occupancy, and the British were legally on 
an equality with the Americans, each had equal 
rights in the matter. February 17 and 18, 1841, 
a meeting of the inhabitants was held at the 
Methodist Mission. Although attempts were then 
made to form a government, several officers were 
appointed, and a committee appointed for framing 
a constitution and a code of laws, the movement 
failed. The matter lay dormant until the spring 
of 1843. The immigration of 1842, although small, 
and although about half of them went to Califor- 
nia in the spring of 1843, materially increased the 
strength of the Americans in Oregon. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 65 

After several preliminary meetings had been 
held, the momentous meeting of May 2, 1843, was 
held at Champoeg, when, by the vote of 52 in 
favor and 50 against, the Provisional Government 
of Oregon was created. Certain officers were elect- 
ed and a legislative committee of six was appoint- 
ed, the latter to report July 5, 1843. On the latter 
day most of the report was adopted, an executive 
committee of three persons, David Hill, Alanson 
Beers, and Joseph Gale, was chosen in place of a 
governor, and Oregon had at least a de facto 
government, which, with some changes, continued 
until Oregon had a Territorial Government, in 
1849. George Abernethy, the steward of the 
Methodist Mission, was elected Governor in 1845, 
and by re-election continued to be Governor until 
the arrival of Gen. Joseph Lane, the first Terri- 
torial Governor, in March, 1849. The Mission 
Party was one of the strongest and most influential 
political parties in Oregon until the election of 
Governor Joseph Lane as Delegate to Congress, 
June 2, 1851.^^ At the time of the formation of the 
Provisional Government, the residents of Oregon 
seem to have been divided into three classes, or 
parties: one favored a provisional government, 
favorable to the United States ; another favored an 
independent government, which would be neutral 
as between the United States and Great Britain; 
the third believed that matters should remain in 
statu quo. For some reason Jason Lee and George 
Abernethy, and some others of the Methodist mis- 
sionaries, seem originally to have belonged to or 



History of Oregon by Rev. H. K. Hines, D.D., pp. i66, 167. 



66 Dr. John McLoughlin 

to have favored the third class/^ In the "Political 
History of Oregon" by J. Henry Brown, he says 
(page 95) that at a meeting of the committee held 
at Oregon City, in March, 1843, "Rev. Jason Lee 
and Mr. Abernethy were disposed to ridicule the 
proposed organization \^i.e., the Provisional Gov- 
ernment] as foolish and unnecessary, and repeated 
some anecdotes to illustrate their meaning." 

Dr. McLoughlin was not originally in favor of 
the Provisional Government. It was openly and 
avowedly advocated as being in favor of the United 
States, and against Great Britain. Once started, 
without a trial, no one could know where it would 
end. Already some of the Americans had de- 
nounced the Hudson's Bay Company and Dr. 
McLoughlin, and had made threats against the 
property of the Company. His loan of cattle had 
been misunderstood and denounced. Some of the 
Americans seemed not to be aware that the Hud- 
son's Bay Company was lawfully in the Oregon 
Country, under the Conventions for joint-occu- 
pancy. To aid or to assist the establishment of a 
government, owing exclusive allegiance to the 
United States, would be, or might be disloyalty by 
Dr. McLoughlin to his Country and be injurious 
or fatal to his Company in Oregon. By the consti- 
tution or compact of the Provisional Government, 
as established in 1843, each officer was required to 
take an oath or affirmation "to support the laws of 
the territory," without qualification. There was, 
too, his land claim at Oregon City, which the land 
laws of the Provisional Government, as estab- 

^* Gray's History of Oregon, pp. 268, 269. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 67 

lished, sought to deprive Dr. McLoughlin of, and 
to give, at least a part of it, to the Methodist Mis- 
sion. About the status of his land claim I shall 
presently explain. There was, also, the cry of 
"54-40 or fight" and the chance of war over the 
Oregon Country between the United States and 
Great Britain. Dr. McLoughlin appealed to the 
directors of his Company for protection to their 
property, but none came. In June, 1844, he re- 
ceived an answer from his Company that it could 
not obtain protection from the British Govern- 
ment, and that the Hudson's Bay Company must 
protect itself the best it could. The fortifications 
at Fort Vancouver were strengthened. There was 
threatened trouble in the air. It looked as though 
there might be war in Oregon. 

In 1845 th^ Provisional Government attempted 
to extend its jurisdiction north of the Columbia 
River. It became a question of acquiescence or 
actual opposition by the Hudson's Bay Company. 
Jesse Applegate, one of the best and noblest of 
Oregon's pioneers, who was a member of the Pro- 
visional Legislature and one of a committee, pri- 
vately interviewed Dr. McLoughlin. After con- 
sulting with James Douglas, his chief assistant, a 
compromise was finally agreed to by which the 
Hudson's Bay Company would be taxed only on 
goods sold to the settlers. August 15, 1845, the 
Hudson's Bay Company, with all the British resi- 
dents, became parties to the Oregon Provisional 
Government. The oath of office as provided by 
the compact of 1843 had been changed by what is 
called the "Organic Act" of the Provisional Gov- 



68 Dr. John McLoughlin 

ernment, adopted by the people, by popular vote, 
July 26, 1845. As so amended the oath of office 
required each officer to swear that he would "sup- 
port the organic laws of the Provisional Govern- 
ment of Oregon, so tar as said organic laws are 
consistent with my duties as a citizen of the United 
States, or a subject of Great Britain." The land 
law of 1843 was also changed by said vote of the 
people, July 26, 1845, by which the objectionable 
features, so far as Dr. McLoughlin's land claim at 
Oregon City was concerned, were largely elimi- 
nated. Under the circumstances joining the Pro- 
visional Government was a good and wise move 
on the part of Dr. McLoughlin. But he was 
severely criticized therefor by his Company. Un- 
known to Dr. McLoughlin, there was then a large 
British fleet of war in the Pacific Ocean. 

A few days after Dr. McLoughlin, for himself 
and his Company, had thus joined the Provisional 
Government, he was surprised by the arrival from 
Puget Sound of Lieut. Wm. Peel, son of Sir 
Robert Peel, and Captain Park of the Royal 
Marines, with a letter from Captain Gordon, com- 
manding the British 50-gun ship-of-war America, 
then in Puget Sound, and also a letter from Ad- 
miral Seymour, commanding the British fleet, 
that "firm protection" would be given British sub- 
jects in Oregon. Subsequently the British war 
sloop, Modeste, 18 guns, arrived at Fort Van- 
couver, where she remained until the boundary 
treaty of 1846 was entered into.^° 



"" "Narrative of Dr. McLoughlin" published in the Quarterly of the 
Oregon Historical Society, June, 1900. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 69 

Immigration of 1842. 

In 1842 came the immigration of that year, 
which is now counted the first real immigration of 
American settlers to Oregon. I believe, however, 
that the immigration of 1843 should be called the 
first immigration of Oregon home-builders. But 
that question is not material in this address. The 
number of the immigrants of 1842 has been vari- 
ously estimated, but, after a somewhat careful ex- 
amination of the matter, I believe there were all 
told about one hundred and twenty-five. Of this 
number about fifty-five were men over eighteen 
years of age. These immigrants left their wagons 
at Fort Hall and used pack horses. They came 
from The Dalles to Oregon City, overland, by the 
Indian trail which passed near Mt. Hood.^^ 

Many of the immigrants of 1842 were disap- 
pointed in Oregon. The country was then very 
new, and they became discontented. Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin engaged many to labor at fair wages, and 
furnished goods on credit to those who could not 
make immediate payment. Some of them were of 
a roving or adventurous class, ever seeking new 
places. In the spring of 1843 nearly half of them 
went to California, leaving on their journey May 
30, from Champoeg. Dr. McLoughlin furnished 
these emigrants to California with supplies, upon 
their promise to pay for the same to W. G. Rae, 
the Hudson's Bay Company's agent at Yerba 
Buena (now San Francisco). Most of them did 
not pay, and Dr. McLoughlin personally assumed 
the payment of this indebtedness. 

^^ Address of Medorum Crawford, in 1881. See Transactions of 
the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1881, p. 14. 



yo Dr. John McLoughlin 

Immigration of 1843- 

In 1843 came the first great immigration to Ore- 
gon. As if by a common impulse, and without 
preconcert, the immigrants met at Independence, 
Missouri, leaving there for Oregon, May 20, 1843. 
Peter H. Burnett, afterwards a Chief Justice of 
the Oregon Provisional Government, and the first 
Governor of the State of California, was the first 
Captain. J. W. Nesmith, afterwards United 
States Senator from Oregon, was Orderly Ser- 
geant. About eight hundred and seventy-five men, 
women, and children composed this immigration. 
Of these there were two hundred and ninety-five 
men, over the age of sixteen years. In this immi- 
gration were my grandfather, John Holman, and 
his son, Daniel S. Holman, then nearly twenty-one 
years old. 

After first arriving at the Columbia River, they 
straggled and struggled along the Columbia River 
to Fort Vancouver - a few driving cattle, going 
overland by the Indian trail from near The Dalles 
to Oregon City. There was not then any way to 
take wagons by land from The Dalles to the Wil- 
lamette Valley. A few of the immigrants went 
down the Columbia River to The Dalles in boats. 
In one of these parties three persons were drowned 
by the capsizing of boats. The rest of the immi- 
grants went to The Dalles overland with their 
wagons. From The Dalles to the Cascades some 
of them went by boats, others went on rafts, which 
they constructed. There was great difficulty in 
going from the Upper Cascades to the Lower Cas- 
cades. The rafts could not be taken over the rapids. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 71 

It took about two weeks to cut a trail around the 
Cascades. The rains set in. The position of the 
immigrants was desperate. Some did not arrive at 
Fort Vancouver until about Christmas. They had 
not anticipated such hardships and privations as 
they were then suffering. Few had sufficient food 
or raiment, many were absolutely destitute. Dr. 
McLoughlin sent supplies to be sold to those who 
were able, and to those who could not buy, the 
supplies were furnished on credit, or given to 
them. He furnished boats to carry them from the 
Cascades to Fort Vancouver. He caused the sick 
to be attended to, and nursed at the Company's 
hospital at Fort Vancouver. He furnished them 
every assistance as long as they required it. Time 
will not permit me to go into the details. 

When the immigrants of 1843 were thus coming 
along the Columbia River, some helpless and al- 
most hopeless, there was a plot by the Indians to 
massacre these Americans. It was prevented by 
Dr. McLoughlin. The effect of such a massacre 
would have been tremendous. It would have, prob- 
ably, prevented the further settlement of Oregon 
for years. Had the United States sent troops to 
punish the Indians in the disputed Oregon Coun- 
try, it would have almost certainly precipitated a 
war with Great Britain. 

In presenting the McLoughlin Document to the 
Oregon Pioneer Society, in 1880, Col. J. W. Ne- 
smith said: "I had intended reading it to you as 
a part of my address, but, having already tres- 
passed too long upon your patience, I shall hand 
the document to the secretary of the Society, with 



72 Dr. John McLoughlin 

my endorsement of the truth of all its statements 
that came within my own knowledge. ... I 
desire to say, what I believe all old pioneers will 
agree to, that the statements of this paper fur- 
nished a . . . complete vindication of Dr. 
McLoughlin's acts and conduct, and that the in- 
tegrity of his narrative cannot be impeached by 
any honest testimony." In the McLoughlin Docu- 
ment Dr. McLoughlin says: "In 1843, about 800 
immigrants arrived from the States. I saw by the 
looks of the Indians that they were excited, and I 
watched them. As the first stragglers were arriv- 
ing at Vancouver in canoes, and I was standing on 
the bank, nearer the water there was a group of 
ten or twelve Indians. One of them bawled out 
to his companions, 'It is good for us to kill these 
Bostons [Americans].' Struck with the excite- 
ment I had seen in the countenances of the Indians 
since they had heard the report of the immigration 
coming, I felt certain they were inclined to mis- 
chief, and that he spoke thus loud as a feeler to 
sound me, and take their measures accordingly. 
I immediately rushed on them with my cane, call- 
ing out at the same time, 'Who is the dog that 
says it is a good thing to kill the Bostons?' The 
fellow, trembling, excused himself, 'I spoke with- 
out meaning harm, but The Dalles Indians say 
so.' 'Well,' said I, 'The Dalles Indians are dogs 
for saying so, and you also,' and left him, as, if 
I had remained longer it would have had a bad 
effect. I had done enough to convince them I 
would not allow them to do wrong to the immi- 
grants with impunity. From this Indian saying, 



Dr. John McLoughlin 73 

in the way he did, diat The Dalles Indians said 
it was good to kill the Bostons, I felt it my duty 
to do all I could to avert so horrid a deed. 

"Mr. P. L. Edwards, whom I mentioned, came 
in 1834, with the Messrs. Lee, and left in 1838, 
and sent me a letter by Gen. McCarver, stating he 
had given a letter of introduction to me to P. H. 
Burnett, Esq. I immediately formed my plan 
and kept my knowledge of the horrid design of the 
Indians secret, as I felt certain that if the Amer- 
icans knew it, these men acting independently of 
each other, would be at once for fighting, which 
would lead to their total destruction, and I sent 
two (2) boats with provisions to meet them; sent 
provisions to Mr. Burnett, and a large quantity of 
provisions for sale to those who would purchase, 
and to be given to those who had not the means, 
being confident that the fright I had given (as I 
already stated) the Indians who said it was a good 
thing to kill the Bostons was known at The Dalles 
before our boats were there, and that the presence 
of the Hudson's Bay Company people, and the 
assistance they afforded the immigrants, would 
deter the Indians from doing them any wrong, 
and I am happy to be able to say that I entirely 
succeeded." 

Dr. McLoughlin then says, in this Document, 
that about a month after this incident he told Dr. 
Marcus Whitman what had occurred. Dr. 
McLoughlin thought the trouble might have been 
started by some Iroquois Indian in the employ of 
the Hudson's Bay Company, and Dr. McLoughlin 
was anxious "to find that rascal out to punish him 



74 Dr. John McLoughlin 

as an example to deter others." Dr. Whitman then 
said that he had known of this trouble among the 
Indians for about two years, although he had said 
nothing to Dr. McLoughlin about it, and that 
the trouble was caused by a Shawnee Indian named 
Tom Hill, who is said to have been educated at 
Dartmouth College. He had urged the Indians 
to allow no Americans to settle on their lands, as 
the Americans had driven out the Shawnees, and 
that the Indians about Walla Walla said the Cay- 
uses were inclined to follow the advice by killing 
the immigrants who first came. It will be remem- 
bered that the Cayuses were the Indians who 
caused the Whitman massacre in 1847. Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin, in this Document, then says that he be- 
lieves the Indians would have killed these immi- 
grants of 1843 but for the decided and cautious 
manner in which he acted. Dr. McLoughlin con- 
tinues: "And the reason the Indian made use of 
the expression he did was because I punished the 
murderers of the Smith party; and, before acting, 
they wanted to know how I would treat them. And 
most certainly if I had not been most anxious for 
the safety of the immigrants, and to discharge to 
them the duties of a Christian, my ear would not 
have caught so quickly the words, 'it is a good 
thing to kill these Bostons,' and acted as I did." 

Then there was the question how these immi- 
grants of 1843 should be provided for during the 
winter and until the next harvest. They had no 
implements, no seed. There was a crisis impend- 
ing. Without waiting to be asked, Dr. McLough- 
lin gave credit, furnishing these immigrants with 



Dr. John McLoughlin 75 

food and clothing for the present, and also farm 
implements and seed-wheat to begin their farming. 
He exacted no collateral, he gave time without 
interest. All this was against the rules of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. He made himself personally 
liable for all these debts. He also loaned these 
immigrants cattle, including cows, and also hogs. 
Col. J. W. Nesmith, one of the immigrants of 
1843, in his address before the Oregon Pioneer 
Association in 1876 said : "Dr. John McLoughlin, 
then at the head of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
from his own private resources, rendered the new 
settlers much valuable aid by furnishing the desti- 
tute with food, clothing, and seed, waiting for his 
pay until they had a surplus to dispose of." Peter 
H. Burnett, of whom I have already spoken, was 
one of the immigrants of 1843. He started a town 
and called it Linnton, which was situated where 
the present town of Linnton is situated - eight 
miles north of Portland on the Willamette River, 
and about half way between Portland and Van- 
couver by water. He kept a journal of his travels, 
which was published, in part, in the New York 
Herald in 1844. Part H of the History of Oregon 
by George Wilkes, published in 1845, is largely 
taken from this journal.^- In this journal 
Burnett says : -^ ''On my arrival I was re- 
ceived with great kindness by Doctor McLough- 
lin and Mr. James Douglass, the second in com- 
mand. They both tendered me the hospitalities of 
the fort, which offer, it is scarcely necessary to say, 

^^ See Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, Vol. 3, pp. 398-426. 
*" Wilkes, History of Oregon, p. 95. 



76 Dr. John McLoughlin 

I accepted willingly and with pleasure. . . . 
His hospitality is unbounded, and I will sum up 
all his qualities, by saying that he is beloved by all 
who know him. . . . The kindness of Dr. 
McLoughlin to this emigration has been 
very great. He furnished them with goods 
and provisions on credit, and such as were sick 
were sent to the Hospital free of expense, where 
they had the strict and careful attendance of Dr. 
Barclay, a skillful physician, and an excellent and 
humane man. The Chief Factor [Dr. McLough- 
lin] likewise lent the emigrants the Company's 
boats, to bring down such of the families and bag- 
gage as had been left at the Cascades by the ad- 
vance guard of the expedition, which had pre- 
ceded me; and he also furnished them with the 
facilities for crossing the river with their cattle, 
at Vancouver. Had it not been for the kindness 
of this excellent man, many of us would have suf- 
fered greatly. ... It is certain that the 
Doctor himself has uniformly aided settlers, by 
supplying them with farming implements, and 
with seed-grain, as a loan, to be returned out of 
the succeeding crop. He even went so far as to 
lend them hogs, to be returned two or three years 
afterward, by their issue of the same age; to fur- 
nish oxen to break their ground, and cows to sup- 
ply milk to their families. This certainly appears 
to me to be a very poor way to retard the settlement 
of the region, and to discourage adventurers who 
arrive in it." 

In 1880 Mr. Burnett, then ex-Governor of Cali- 
fornia, wrote a book called "Recollections and 



Dr. John McLoughlin 77 

Opinions of an Old Pioneer," so that we have his 
opinion of Dr. McLoughlin in 1843 contempora- 
neous with the events I speak of, and also his 
mature reflections thirty-seven years after that. On 
page 142 of this book Mr. Burnett says: "When 
we arrived in Oregon we were poor, and our teams 
were so much reduced as to be unfit for service 
until the next spring. Those of us who came by 
water from Walla Walla left our cattle there for 
the winter; and those who came by water from 
The Dalles left their cattle for the winter at that 
point. Even if our teams had been fit for use when 
we arrived, they would have been of no benefit to 
us, as we could not bring them to the Willamette 
Valley until the spring of 1844. Pork was ten, and 
flour four cents a pound, and other provisions in 
proportion. These were high prices considering 
our scanty means and extra appetites. Had it not 
been for the generous kindness of the gentlemen 
in charge of the business of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, we should have suffered much greater 
privations. The Company furnished many of our 
immigrants with provisions, clothing, seed, and 
other necessaries on credit. This was done, in 
many instances, where the purchasers were known 
to be of doubtful credit. Many of our immigrants 
were unworthy of the favors they received, and 
only returned abuse for generosity." 

Captain J. C. Fremont, afterwards Major-Gen- 
eral, in the United States Army, was at Fort Van- 
couver when the immigrants of 1843 were arriv- 
ing. On page 191 of the Report of his Second Ex- 
ploring Expedition, he says: "I found many 



78 Dr. John McLoughlin 

American emigrants at the fort; others had al- 
ready crossed the river into their land of promise - 
the Walahmette Valley. Others were daily arriv- 
ing; and all of them had been furnished with shel- 
ter, so far as it could be afforded by the buildings 
connected with the establishment. Necessary 
clothing and provisions [the latter to be afterwards 
returned in kind from the produce of their labor] 
were also furnished. This friendly assistance was 
of very great value to the emigrants, whose fami- 
lies were otherwise exposed to much suffering in 
the winter rains which had now commenced, at 
the same time that they were in want of all the 
common necessaries of life." 

Immigration of 1844- 

The immigration of 1844 was composed of 
about fourteen hundred persons. They suffered 
many hardships and many lost all, or a part of, 
their cattle, clothing, and goods. Most of these 
immigrants arrived late in the season. Snow be- 
gan to fall before all arrived at their destinations. 
Boats were supplied free, and provisions, cattle, 
and seed-wheat were furnished them on credit by 
Dr. McLoughlin, as he had the immigrants of 
1843. The supplies in Oregon had been nearly 
exhausted by the immigration of 1843, although 
Dr. McLoughlin had urged the raising of grain 
and other supplies in anticipation of the coming 
of the immigration of 1844. The available sup- 
ply of clothing at Fort Vancouver had been prac- 
tically exhausted before the arrival of the immi- 
gration of 1844. 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 79 

John Minto, who is still living in Oregon, was 
one of the immigrants of 1844. In his address 
presenting to the State of Oregon the portrait of 
Dr. John McLoughlin, which now hangs in the 
Senate Chamber, he said: "To the assistance given 
to the Immigrants of 1843, as described by Col. 
Nesmith, I can add as an eyewitness, that those of 
1844 received the loan of boats in which to descend 
the Columbia River from The Dalles (there being 
no road across the Cascades [mountains] ) ; the 
hungry were fed, the sick cared for and nursed, 
and, not the least, was the fact that many of the 
employees of the Hudson's Bay Company followed 
the good Doctor in their treatment of the Amer- 
icans. Especially was this the case in the settle- 
ment of retired Canadians who almost worshipped 
him." 

Joseph Watt, the well-known enterprising pio- 
neer of 1844, who largely assisted in starting the 
first woolen mill in Oregon, in 1857, in his "Recol- 
lections of Dr. John McLoughlin," published in 
the Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Associa- 
tion of 1886 said (pages 24 and 25) : "On the 13th 
of November, 1844, ^ company of immigrants 
landed at Fort Vancouver, brought there on a 
bateau commanded by Joseph Hess, an immigrant 
of '43. The boat belonged to the Hudson's Bay 
Company. Mr. Hess was entrusted with the boat 
for the purpose of bringing immigrants down the 
river. We had eaten the last of our provisions at 
our last camp, and were told by Hess that we could 
get plenty at the fort, with or without money ;- 
that the old Doctor never turned people away 



8o Dr. John McLoughlin 

hungry. This made us feel quite comfortable, for 
there was not a dollar among us. As near as I can 
remember the company consisted of sixteen men, 
five women and four children. . . . We were 
the first to arrive. . . . We soon found the 
Doctor in a small room he called his office. . . . 
He spoke of our being so late, and feared there 
would be considerable suffering before they could 
all be taken down the river, but should do all in 
his power until they reached their destination. 

"We then made known to him our wants. We 
were all out of provisions. There was a small 
table in one corner of the room, at which he took a 
seat, and directed us to stand in a line- (there be- 
ing so many of us the line reached nearly around 
the room) - and then told us the year before, and 
in fact previous years, he had furnished the people 
with all the provisions and clothing they wanted, 
but lately had established a trading house at Ore- 
gon City, where we could get supplies; but for 
immediate necessity he would supply provisions 
at the fort. Several of our party broke in, saying: 
'Doctor, I have no money to pay you, and I don't 
know when or how I can pay you.' 'Tut, tut, never 
mind that; you can't suffer,' said the Doctor. He 
then commenced at the head man saying, 'Your 
name, if you please; how many in the family, and 
what do you desire?' Upon receiving an answer, 
the Doctor wrote an order, directing him where to 
go to have it filled; then called up the next man, 
and so on until we were all supplied. He told us 
the account of each man would be sent to Oregon 
City, and when we took a claim, and raised wheat, 



Dr. John McLoughlin 



we could settle the account by delivering wheat at 
that place. Some few who came after us got cloth- 
ing. Such was the case with every boat load, -and 
all those who came by land down the trail. If he 
had said 'We have these supplies to sell for cash 
down,' I think we would have suffered. . . . 
When we started to Oregon, we were all preju- 
diced against the Hudson's Bay Company, and Dr. 
McLoughlin, being Chief Factor of the Com- 
pany for Oregon, came in for a double share of 
that feeling. I think a great deal of this was 
caused by the reports of missionaries and adverse 
traders, imbuing us with a feeling that it was our 
mission to bring this country under the jurisdiction 
of the stars and stripes. But when we found him 
anxious to assist us, nervous at our situation in be- 
ing so late, and doing so much without charge, - 
letting us have of his store, and waiting without 
interest, until we could make a farm and pay him 
from the surplus products of such farm, the preju- 
dice heretofore existing began to be rapidly al- 
layed. We did not know that every dollar's worth 
of provisions, etc., he gave us, all advice and assist- 
ance in every shape was against the positive orders 
of the Hudson's Bay Company. ... In this 
connection I am sorry to say that thousands of dol- 
lars virtually loaned by him to settlers at different 
times in those early days, was never paid, as an ex- 
amination of his books and papers will amply 
testify." 

Immigration of 1845- 

The immigration of 1845 numbered about three 



82 Dr. John McLoughlin 

thousand persons. Many of them suffered more 
than the preceding immigrations. They also were 
assisted by Dr. McLoughlin as he had the immi- 
grants of 1843 and 1844. For this he was charged 
with disloyalty by one of the British spies then at 
Vancouver. Stephen Staats was one of the im- 
migrants of 1845. In his address before the Ore- 
gon Pioneer Association, in 1877, he said: "We 
reached Oregon City in thirteen days (overland) 
from The Dalles (two of which we were without 
food), and on our arrival, those of us in advance 
were kindly and hospitably received by old Dr. 
McLoughlin. He immediately furnished us with 
provisions, without money and without price, and 
extended to us favors which we were ever ready to 
reciprocate. I am not one of those who wish to 
cast reflections on the character of Dr. McLough- 
lin, or wish to impute to him anything wanting in 
the kindest feeling towards the immigrants of 1845. 
For well do I know, that but for him, many would 
have been more embarrassed in making provision 
for the coming winter's necessities than they were. 
And I have yet to see the immigrant of 1845, who, 
when speaking of the 'Old Man Doctor,' does not 
speak in high commendation of his actions to- 
wards the immigrants of that year." The wise, 
humane, and paternal foresight of Dr. McLough- 
lin was of great assistance to the immigrants of 
1845. In the McLoughlin Document he says: 
"When the immigration of 1842 came, we had 
enough of breadstuffs in the country for one year, 
but as the immigrants reported that next season 
there would be a great immigration, it was evident. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 83 

if there was not a proportionate increase of seed 
sown in 1843 and 1844, there would be a famine in 
the country in 1845, which would lead to trouble, 
as those that had families, to save them from star- 
vation, would be obliged to have recourse to vio- 
lence to get food for them. To avert this I freely 
supplied the immigrants of 1843 ^^^ 1844 with the 
necessary articles to open farms, and by these 
means avoided the evils. In short I afforded every 
assistance to the immigrants so long as they re- 
quired it, and by management I kept peace in the 
country, and in some cases had to put up with a 
great deal." 

The Quality of the Early Immigrants. 

The early immigrants to Oregon were not men- 
dicants nor tramps. It is true some of them were 
of a roving disposition; probably a few were of the 
improvident class. Most of them were forceful, 
strong men and women, physically and mentally; 
strong also in their Americanism, and filled with 
the racial instinct to follow the western course of 
Empire. They came to Oregon as home-builders. 
Many of them had their lineage from the pioneers 
who first settled the Atlantic Coast, particularly 
the southern part of it. Descendants of these 
pioneers had crossed the mountains and were the 
hardy and courageous pioneers of Kentucky and 
Tennessee in the early, perilous, and heroic days of 
Daniel Boone, John Sevier, George Rogers Clark, 
and James Robertson. The ancestors of some of 
these Oregon immigrants had taken part in the 
great war of the American Revolution on the At- 



84 Dr. John McLoughlin 

lantic Coast, and had then assisted in upbuilding 
civilization in the Middle West. These fore- 
fathers had won the Middle West. These immi- 
grants came to win Oregon. The grandfathers and 
fathers of some of them had taken part in the war 
of 18 1 2, and in the later Indian wars. A few of 
these immigrants were veterans of the war of 181 2 
and of these Indian wars. There were immigrants 
who had taken active part in the troubles with 
the Mormons and had assisted in driving them 
out of Western Missouri. It was of this stock that 
parts of Missouri, and especially the western part 
of that state, had been then largely peopled, and 
many of these Oregon immigrants had settled' 
there temporarily before coming to Oregon. A 
great majority of the immigrants to Oregon from 
1843 to 1846, inclusive, and of some of the later 
immigrants, were from the Southern States. They, 
and their ancestors for many generations, had been 
born and brought up in the South. Most of them 
had the good qualities and were of the high type 
of American citizenship characteristic of the 
white people of the South. They were mostly 
plain people, but they and their ancestry were of 
good class. Theirs was an inheritance of indomi- 
table will, high courage, and noble purposes. 
Their ancestors had conquered, settled, and up- 
builded the country from the seaboards of Virginia 
and the Carolinas to the Mississippi River.-^ Ore- 
gon was another land to conquer, to settle, and to 
upbuild. There were also in these early immigra- 
tions a number of men and women, descendants of 

^* See Theodore Roosevelt's Winning of the West. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 85 

the sturdy peoples who settled in New England, 
and in other Northern States. There were a few 
men who were attracted to Oregon by the love of 
adventure incident to the journey and to the settle- 
ment of a new country. There were also a few men, 
born outside of the United States, who allied them- 
selves with the Americans, and became identified 
with the Americans in Oregon, and subsequently 
were admitted as citizens of the United States. 

The places these immigrants left to come to 
Oregon, although some of these places were com- 
paratively new, were mostly over-supplied with 
unsold agricultural products - unsalable for want 
of markets. The early books and pamphlets on 
Oregon and the stirring speeches of Oregon enthu- 
siasts, who had never been to Oregon, pictured 
Oregon as the traditional land of plenty and of 
"milk and honey." There was, too, an abiding 
faith in the future, a certain improvidence born 
of strong manhood and womanhood. They were 
filled with confidence in their ability to conquer 
all troubles and overcome all difficulties. They 
did not think of failure - they intended to succeed. 
Then, too, the journey was longer and more ardu- 
ous than they had anticipated. Their greatest 
dangers and troubles were after they had entered 
the Oregon Country and reached the Columbia 
River. All east of that river, with its hardships, 
was comfortable compared with the troubles and 
dangers to come. They did not come seeking, nor 
did they seek charity or alms. The true, honest, 
brave-hearted immigrants wished to pay for what 
they obtained, and did as soon as they were able 



86 Dr. John McLoughlin 

to do so. They were met by conditions which they 
could not, or did not, foresee. Dr. John Mc- 
Loughlin, with his great, manly prescience, ap- 
preciated all this. He sold provisions and cloth- 
ing to those who could pay; equally, he sold on 
credit, to those who could not, without references, 
without collaterals. He understood the quality of 
most of these pioneers - he was unfortunately in 
error as to some of them. It was not charity on 
the part of Dr. McLoughlin, it was the exercise of 
that great quality, which he possessed in an extra- 
ordinary degree - humanity. 

I regret to say that a few of these early immi- 
grants, at times, without cause, were rude to Dr. 
McLoughlin and abusive of his Company, and of 
his Country. Some of these did not care - others 
had been prejudiced by false information, which 
they had read or heard before they left their 
homes, or on the way to Oregon. Some, I still 
more regret to say, accepted the credit extended to 
them by Dr. McLoughlin, and never paid. But 
the payment to the Hudson's Bay Company of 
these bad debts was assumed by Dr. McLoughlin. 
The aggregate amount is not definitely known, for 
Dr. McLoughlin suffered, in many ways, in 
silence. But it was a very large sum. Those who 
paid in full could not requite his kindness to them. 

The real Oregon pioneers are these overland 
immigrants who came to Oregon prior to 1847. 
The immigrants of 1846 were a long way on their 
journey to Oregon when the Boundary Treaty was 
made. They left on their journey early in May, 
1846. This treaty was signed at Washington, June 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 87 

15, 1846. The proclamation by the President of 
the Treaty and of its ratification by the two coun- 
tries is dated August 5, 1846. The immigrants of 
1846 did not know that the Treaty had been made, 
signed, or confirmed until after their arrival in 
Oregon. The news that the Treaty had been 
signed came by a sailing vessel, and did not reach 
Oregon until November, 1846.^^ The distance 
traveled by the immigrants to Oregon, from the 
rendezvous at Independence, Missouri, to Oregon 
City, was about two thousand miles. The usual 
time in making this journey was between five and 
six months. Ox-teams were used almost exclusive- 
ly. It was thought that the use of horses for teams 
was impracticable. It was feared there would be 
insufficient food for such horses, on the way, as 
the numbers would be large. It would be neces- 
sary to keep these horses shod for pulling the 
heavily loaded wagons. Many horses were brought 
which were used for riding, rounding-up cattle, 
and in hunting. There were practical difficul- 
ties in caring for, and feeding horses at night. 
Horses had to be "staked" at night, cattle would 
graze at large. Horses were liable to be stam- 
peded and be lost or be stolen by the Indians. 
Oxen were much cheaper than horses. It would 
require at least four horses to a wagon. It was de- 
sirable to have cows to furnish milk on the way, 
especially for the children. Good cattle were 
scarce in Oregon and it was desirable to take cows 
and bulls for breeding purposes, and other cattle 
for beef. Many of these immigrants brought cat- 

*' Oregon Spectator, November 12, 1848. 



88 Dr. John McLoughlin 

tie with them in addition to their ox-teams. These 
cattle and ox-teams could not travel as fast as 
horses and the speed of the latter necessarily would 
be kept to that of the ox-teams. Should oxen be 
lost or die, their places could be taken by cattle or 
even by cows. This was not infrequently done. 

These early immigrants all came to, or started 
for Oregon, overland, in the time of joint- 
occupancy. They were not encouraged, helped, 
nor protected by the Government in coming 
to Oregon. There were no United States troops 
in the Oregon Country, or near the immigrant 
trail prior to 1849. The Cayuse Indian war of 
1847-8 was carried on by the Oregon Provis- 
ional Government alone, without assistance from 
the United States Government. This war was 
fought wholly by volunteers from the Willam- 
ette Valley. The coming of these early immi- 
grants assisted to hold Oregon for the United 
States, and greatly contributed to the settlement 
of the Oregon Question. They relied on them- 
selves but they believed that their Country would 
protect its own in Oregon. Their rights and cour- 
age could not be ignored. There was no one man 
who saved Oregon. If any persons saved Oregon, 
they were these immigrants from 1843 to and in- 
cluding 1846. There is not a true American who 
does not take pride in the daring of these pioneers 
and in what they accomplished in coming to Ore- 
gon. Whatever some of them may have lacked, 
in certain qualities, and in spite of the bad treat- 
ment, by some of them, of Dr. McLoughlin, the 
patriotism and courage of most of them were of 



Dr. John McLoughlin 89 

the highest types. This great movement of immi- 
grants to Oregon from 1843 to 1846, inclusive, 
may not, even now^, be thoroughly understood nor 
explained but it is fully appreciated. With all its 
dangers and hardships, with all its mystery and 
simplicity, and its commonplaces, it stands today 
one of the most daring colonizing movements for, 
and the most remarkable, interesting, and romantic 
story of the settlement and upbuilding of any part 
of the continents of the two Americas. 

It must be borne in mind that all these aids by 
Dr. McLoughlin to the immigrants of 1843, and 
succeeding years, were after some of the Methodist 
missionaries had attempted to take his land claim, 
and succeeded in part. The history of these trans- 
actions I shall presently relate. And did the secu- 
lar department of the Methodist Mission assist 
these early pioneers in any way similar to what was 
done by Dr. McLoughlin? If so, I have found no 
trace nor record of it. Undoubtedly Methodist 
missionaries, individually, did many kindly acts 
to destitute immigrants. Had Dr. McLoughlin 
acted with the supineness of the Methodist Mis- 
sion toward the immigrants of 1843, 1844, and 
1845, and especially that of 1843, the consequences 
would have been terrible. Leaving out the prob- 
ability of massacres by the Indians, many immi- 
grants would have died from starvation, exposure 
and lack of clothing along the Columbia River, 
or after their arrival in the Willamette Valley. It 
is true Fort Vancouver might have been captured 
and destroyed. That would have given no perma- 
nent relief. That would probably have been the 



90 Dr. John McLoughlin 

beginning of a war between the United States and 
Great Britain. Even without a war the settle- 
ment of Oregon would have been delayed for many 
years. And all of the Oregon Country north of 
the Columbia River might have been lost to the 
United States. 

Sir George Simpson, the Governor in Chief of 
the Hudson's Bay Company, severely criticized 
Dr. McLoughlin for his assistance to the immi- 
grants. There was an acrimonious correspondence 
between them on the subject. As I am informed, it 
was in this correspondence, which I have not seen, 
that Dr. McLoughlin had written the Hudson's 
Bay Company that he had furnished these supplies 
to the immigrants, saying that, as a man of com- 
mon humanity, it was not possible for him to do 
otherwise than as he did; that he had only done 
what anyone truly a man would have done. That 
it was then insisted by Governor Simpson that Dr. 
McLoughlin should no longer assist any needy 
immigrants, or help any other immigrants. To 
this Dr. McLoughlin made the noble reply, "Gen- 
tlemen, if such is your order, I will serve you 
no longer." This reply was made by Dr. 
McLoughlin - the only question is as to the exact 
time and place it was made. 

The Resignation of Dr. John McLoughlin. 

In 1845 ^^- McLoughlin sent in his resignation 
to the Hudson's Bay Company. Its rules re- 
quired one year's notice before an officer could re- 
sign. His resignation took effect before the immi- 
gration of 1846 arrived. As this address relates to 



Dr. John McLoughlin 91 

Dr. McLoughlin, and only incidentally to the 
Oregon Pioneers, I shall not go into details about 
the immigrations succeeding that of 1845. Dr. 
McLoughlin kept a store and lived at Oregon City 
after his resignation. To the immigrants of 1846 
and after, and to others, as long as he was in busi- 
ness there, he continued, as far as he was able, 
the same hospitality and the same good and hu- 
mane treatment he had exercised when Chief Fac- 
tor at Fort Vancouver. The Barlow road was built 
in 1846 and the immigrants of that year and suc- 
ceeding years could bring their wagons by that 
road from The Dalles, over the Cascade Moun- 
tains, to Oregon City. By common consent of all 
good, honest pioneers, he had been named "The 
Good Doctor," and "The Good Old Doctor," and 
he was known by these names to the time of his 
death. They also came to call him the "Father of 
Oregon." Dr. McLoughlin's resignation from the 
Hudson's Bay Company became necessary to main- 
tain his self-respect. 

I have spoken of Capt. Park and Lieut. Peel, 
British officers, who brought the letters of Admiral 
Seymour and Captain Gordon to Dr. McLoughlin 
in 1845. They were also sent as spies. They were 
succeeded by two more spies, Capt. Warre and 
Lieut. Vavasour, both of the British army. The 
two latter stayed at Fort Vancouver and elsewhere 
in Oregon for some time. In their report Warre 
and Vavasour charged, mainly, that the policy 
pursued by Dr. McLoughlin and the Hudson's 
Bay Company, at the different forts in the Oregon 
Country, had tended to the introduction of Ameri- 



92 Dr. John McLoughlin 

can settlers into the country until they outnum- 
bered the British. To prove this position, they in- 
stanced the assistance rendered the different immi- 
grations, one of which (1845) was arriving while 
they were at Vancouver. They charged that goods 
had been sold to the American settlers at cheaper 
rates than to British subjects; that Dr. McLough- 
lin and the Company had suffered themselves to 
join the Provisional Government "without any re- 
serve except the mere form of the oath;" that their 
lands had been invaded, and themselves insulted, 
until they required the protection of the British 
government "against the very people to the intro- 
duction of whom they had been more than acces- 
sory." There was more in this report of like im- 
port. 

As was to be expected Dr. McLoughlin's ansv/er 
was dignified, forceful, and sufficient. I give only 
a few of his points. ^"^ In his answer Dr. McLough- 
lin said, concerning his treatment of the mission- 
aries: "What would you have? Would you have 
me turn the cold shoulder to the men of God, who 
came to do that for the Indians which this Com- 
pany has neglected to do?" He said he had tried 
to prevent the American settlers remaining idle, 
becoming destitute, and dangerous to the Com- 
pany's servants. Drive them away he could not, 
having neither the right nor the power. That these 
settlers had not come expecting a cordial reception 
from him, but quite the contrary; that while he 
had done some things for humanity's sake, he had 

"* A full summary will be found in Vol. i, pp. 501-505, History of 
Oregon, Bancroft's Works. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 93 

intended to, and had averted evil to the Company 
by using kindness and courtesy towards the Amer- 
ican immigrants. As to joining the Provisional 
Government he showed the necessity and wisdom 
of his actions under the circumstances. To the ac- 
cusation that the Company had submitted to insult, 
he said: "They were not to consider themselves 
insulted because an ignorant man thought he had 
a better right than they had." As to the British 
government, it had not afforded protection in time, 
and that it was not the duty of the Hudson's Bay 
Company to defend Great Britain's right to terri- 
tory. The obligation of the Company's officers, 
whatever their feelings might be, was to do their 
duty to the Company. He admitted helping the 
immigrants of 1843, 1844, ^^^ 1845, and saving the 
lives and property of the destitute and sick. He 
also admitted to assisting the immigrants of 1843 
to raise a crop for their own support and of saving 
the Company from the necessity of feeding the 
next immigration. And he said: "If we had not 
done this, Vancouver would have been destroyed 
and the world would have judged us treated as 
our inhuman conduct deserved; every officer of 
the Company, from the Governor down, would 
have been covered with obloquy, the Company's 
business in this department would have been 
ruined, and the trouble which would have arisen 
in consequence would have probably involved the 
British and American nations in war. If I have 
been the means, by my measures, of arresting any 
of these evils, I shall be amply repaid by the ap- 
probation of my conscience. It is true that I have 



94 Dr. John McLoughlin 

heard some say they would have done differently; 
and, if my memory does not deceive me, I think I 
heard Mr. Vavasour say this; but as explanation 
might give publicity to my apprehension and ob- 
ject, and destroy my measures, I was silent, in the 
full reliance that some day justice would be done 
me." ^' 

The Governor and the directors of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company apparently neither understood 
nor appreciated the conditions in Oregon in 1843, 
and in the immediate succeeding years, or Dr. 
McLoughlin's motives and humanity in assisting 
the immigrants. While the Governor in Chief 
and these directors were probably men of high 
character, and, individually, men of humanity, as 
representatives of this great trading company, 
they seemed to have considered Dr. McLoughlin's 
actions in assisting the American immigrants to 
settle in parts of the disputed Oregon Country by 
relieving their distresses, and saving them from 
suffering and starvation, as amounting almost to 
treason to his Country and as being untrue and 
false to the Hudson's Bay Company and its inter- 
ests. They believed that he had failed to carry 
out its policies, if not its express instructions, which 
they felt he should have followed, as the chief of 
its enterprises west of the Rocky Mountains, no 
matter what the circumstances were or what the 
consequences might be. They did not seem to 
understand that, if the early immigrants had not 
been assisted, helped, and rescued, as they were, 
by Dr. McLoughlm, it might have been fatal to 

*' See Document R. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 95 

Fort Vancouver and precipitated a war between 
the United States and Great Britain. As has been 
already said the Hudson's Bay Company, under 
royal grant, had an absolute monopoly in trading 
with the Indians in what was called British Amer- 
ica, that is, northward and westward of the United 
States, excepting the British Provinces and also 
excepting the Oregon Country. In the latter the 
Company had the exclusive right, under said grant, 
to trade with the Indians, but on the condition that 
it should not be to the prejudice nor exclusion of 
citizens of the United States, who had the right 
to be in the Oregon Country under the convention 
of joint-occupancy.^^ Undoubtedly the Govern- 
or in Chief and directors of the Hudson's Bay 
Company had a feeling that the Company and its 
trade should not be interfered with in the Oregon 
Country. For more than thirty years it and the 
Northwest Company, with which it had coalesced 
in 1 82 1, had had almost absolute control of trade 
with the Indians in nearly all of the Oregon Coun- 
try. Its practical monopoly there had been almost 
as complete as Its actual monopoly in British 
America. The exercise of absolute power usually 
begets a feeling of a right to continue the exercise 
of such power. The head-officers of the Company 
resented the actions of Dr. McLoughlin which 
tended to weaken the power of the Hudson's Bay 
Company and to interfere with its control of the 
fur trade in the Oregon Country. 

An Indian trading company is much more like- 
ly to be mercenary than humane. The headquar- 

" See Document C. 



g6 Dr. John McLoughlin 

ters of the Hudson's Bay Company were at Lon- 
don. Oregon was a long distance from London. 
Under the conditions it may not be surprising that 
greed of gain and selfish interests outweighed hu- 
manity in the minds of these officers in charge 
of the Hudson's Bay Company. It is true none of 
them were in Oregon when these immigrants came. 
None of these officers had ever been in the Oregon 
Country, excepting Sir George Simpson, the Gov- 
ernor in Chief. These officers did not see the dis- 
tresses, the sufferings, or the perils of these immi- 
grants. Their information came largely from 
others, who were not friends of Dr. McLoughlin, 
and who did not approve his actions. Dr. 
McLoughlin had been for so long a time a Chief 
Factor of the Company; he had been, up to the 
arrival of the immigration of 1843, so faithful to 
its policies and interests; he had so increased its 
trade, and added so largely to its revenues, that 
he could not be summarily dismissed. But he 
was a man of pride and of high quality, and he 
could be forced to resign. This the Governor in 
Chief and the directors of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany accomplished. In thus acting unjustly to 
Dr. McLoughlin, they were unconsciously assist- 
ing to make him the eternal hero of Oregon. In 
resigning Dr. McLoughlin gave up a salary of 
twelve thousand dollars a year. He made his 
home at Oregon City, where he expected to pass 
the rest of his life, with the intention of becoming 
an American citizen as soon as possible. He in- 
vested his wealth at Oregon City in various enter- 
prises in an attempt to assist in upbuilding Oregon. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 97 

His resignation marks the beginning of his tribu- 
lations which ended only with his death. The 
details I shall presently set forth. In assisting the 
immigrants Dr. McLoughlin did not count the 
cost nor fear the consequences. His humanity was 
greater than his liking for wealth or position. He 
had no greed for gain, no selfishness. Had he 
anticipated the consequences I believe that he 
would not have hesitated nor acted otherwise than 
he did. Frances Fuller Victor wrote of Dr. 
McLoughlin and his tribulations : "^ "Aristocrat, 
as he was considered by the colonists [American 
settlers] and autocrat as he really was, for twenty 
years throughout the country west of the Rocky 
Mountains, he still bravely returned the assaults 
of his enemies in the language of a republican. 
He defended the American character from the 
slurs of government spies, saying, 'they have the 
same right to come that I have to be here,' touch- 
ing lightly upon the ingratitude of those who for- 
got to pay him their just debts, and the rudeness 
of those, whom White mentions as making him 
blush for American honor. But whether he fav- 
ored the Company's interests against the British, 
or British interests against the Company's, or main- 
tained both against the American interests, or fav- 
ored the American interests against either, or 
labored to preserve harmony between all, the sus- 
picions of both conflicting parties fell upon him, 
and being forced to maintain silence he had the 
bad fortune to be pulled to pieces between them." 



^* Vol. I, pp. 504, 505, History of Oregon, Bancroft's Works. 



98 Dr. John McLoughlin 

Dr. McLoughlin' s Religion. 

When an infant, Dr. McLoughlin was baptized 
in the Roman Catholic Church. His father and 
mother were of that church. While living with 
the family of his maternal grandfather, he prob- 
ably was brought up in the English Established 
Church, of which he became a member. Prior 
to 1 841 or 1842, it was his custom, at Fort Van- 
couver, to read the service of that church on Sun- 
days to the congregation of officers and employees 
who attended. Dr. McLoughlin was a broad man 
in every way. He recognized the good in all 
Christian sects and denominations. He assisted 
the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational 
missionaries. Had he been a member of those 
churches, he could hardly have done more for 
them than he did. While still a Protestant, he also 
assisted the Roman Catholic missionaries, from 
their first coming to Oregon, in 1838, as he had the 
Protestant. He never tried to change the forms 
of religion of his employees and servants of the 
Company. He encouraged them in their devo- 
tion to the religions of their choice. 

Archbishop Francis Norbert Blanchet in his 
"Historical Sketches of the Catholic Church in 
Oregon," says (page 68) : "It is but just to make 
special mention of the important services which 
Dr. John McLoughlin - though not a Catholic - 
has rendered to the French Canadians and their 
families, during the fourteen years he was govern- 
or of Fort Vancouver. He it was who read to 
them the prayers on Sunday. Besides the English 
school kept for the children of the Bourgeois, he 



Dr. John McLoughlin 99 

had a separate one maintained at his own expense, 
in which prayers and the catechism were taught in 
French to the Catholic women and children on 
Sundays and week days, by his orders. He also 
encouraged the chant of the canticles, in which he 
was assisted by his wife and daughter, who took 
much pleasure in this exercise. He visited and 
examined his school once a week. . . . He it 
was who saved the Catholics of the Fort and their 
children from the dangers of perversion, and who, 
finding the log church the Canadians had built, a 
few miles below Fairfield, in 1836, not properly 
located, ordered it to be removed, and rebuilt on a 
large prairie, its present beautiful site." 

Dr. McLoughlin was given charge of a girl by 
her dying father, who was a Protestant. Dr. 
McLoughlin would not send her to a Roman 
Catholic school. He respected the religious faith 
of the girl's father.^^ There is some question as to 
whether Dr. McLoughlin became a Roman 
Catholic in the year 1841 or 1842. In one of those 
years, Dr. McLoughlin read "The End of Contro- 
versy," written by Dr. Milner, and was converted 
by this book to the Roman Catholic faith and 
joined that church. He made his abjuration and 
profession of faith and took his first communion 
at Fort Vancouver in 1841 or 1842. Joining the 
Roman Catholic Church by Dr. McLoughlin was 
most impolitic, at this time, particularly on ac- 
count of his land claim. But he was not a man 
to consider policy when there was something to be 



"Vol. I, p. 31, History of Oregon, Bancroft's Works, from manu- 
script of Jesse Applegate. 



X^r^. 



loo Dr. John McLoughlin 

done, which he thought right, just, or proper. 
Otherwise, he would not have assisted the mission- 
aries nor helped the immigrants. Joining the 
Roman Catholic Church only added to the opposi- 
tion to Dr. McLoughlin. He was then a British 
subject. At that time there was great prejudice by 
many Americans against Great Britain as the sup- 
posed hereditary enemy of the United States. The 
long discussion of the Oregon Question; the elec- 
tion of Polk as President in 1844, largely on the 
popular cry of "54-40 or fight," greatly intensified 
this feeling. There was also great popular preju- 
dice among many of the Protestants of the United 
States against the Roman Catholic Church, which 
had been handed down from the time of the settle- 
ment of New England and the Cromwellian revo- 
lution in England. Locally, in Oregon, a partial 
success of the Roman Catholic missionaries with 
the Indians, where the Protestants had failed, 
probably intensified this feeling. 

In these early immigrations were many women, 
most of whom were wives and mothers. There 
were also numerous children of all ages. There 
were a few births on the way. When these moth- 
ers saw their children, along the Columbia River, 
in peril, many sick and almost famishing; when 
they heard their children cry for food and cloth- 
ing, which these mothers could not supply; and 
when these perils were removed, and these neces- 
saries were furnished by Dr. McLoughlin, and 
their sick children were restored to health under 
his orders and directions; do you think these Prot- 
estant American mothers considered it important 



Dr. John McLoughlin loi 

that Dr. John McLoughlin was a Roman Catholic 
and a British subject? Or that they were not 
grateful? 

Dr. McLoughlin s Land Claim. 

I shall now take up the matter of Dr. McLough- 
lin's land claim at Oregon City. Many writers 
and speakers have spoken of his land claim being 
taken from him, in a loose way, as '^unjust treat- 
ment," or as "robbery." I shall briefly state the 
facts, as I have found them. The early pioneers 
know these facts. They should be known by every- 
one in justice to Dr. McLoughlin and to his 
memory. 

Prior to the Donation Land Law, there were no 
lawful titles to lands in Oregon, except lands given 
to Missions by the law establishing the Territory 
of Oregon. The Donation Land Law was passed 
by Congress, and was approved by the President 
September 27, 1850. Prior to the organization, in 
1843, of the Oregon Provisional Government, the 
only law, or rule of law, in Oregon was the Golden 
Rule, or rather a consensus of public opinion 
among the few settlers in Oregon. When a per- 
son settled on a piece of land and improved it, 
or declared his intention to claim it, all other set- 
tlers respected his possessory rights. Each settler 
thought that on the settlement of the boundary line 
between the United States and Great Britain, his 
land claim would be recognized and protected, 
which he had thus claimed while there was joint- 
occupancy under the Conventions of 18 18 and 
1827. 



I02 Dr. John McLoughlin 

It was in 1829 that Etienne Lucier, one of the 
Hudson's Bay Company's servants, of whom I have 
spoken, settled in the Willamette Valley at French 
Prairie, now in Marion County. Other servants 
of the Hudson's Bay Company, as their terms of 
service expired, and a few Americans, had set- 
tled at or near French Prairie prior to 1834, so that 
when the first missionaries came, there was a thriv- 
ing, although small, settlement near where Jason 
and Daniel Lee established their first mission in 
1834. This mission had no title to the land where 
the Mission was established, yet its rights were 
recognized and respected. 

In 1829 Dr. McLoughlin for himself took pos- 
session of the land and water power at the falls of 
the Willamette River on the east side of the river 
at and near what is now Oregon City. In his land 
claim was the valuable, but small, island contain- 
ing about four or five acres of available area in low 
water, and two or three acres in ordinary high 
water. It was separated from the east bank by 
a part of the river, in summer not more than forty 
feet wide ; it was situated near the crest of the falls. 
Its location made it valuable for convenient use of 
water power. This island was afterwards known 
as "Governor's Island," but was called "Abernethy 
Island" in the Donation Land Law, and is now 
known by the latter name. This island is now 
owned by the Portland General Electric Company. 
It lies partly in the "Basin" at Oregon City. On 
it is now erected a large wooden building called, 
by that Company, "Station A." As I have said, 
in 1825 the Hudson's Bay Company knew that 



Dr. John McLoughlin 103 

England did not intend to claim any part of the 
Oregon Country south of the Columbia River, so 
it did not want for itself any permanent or valu- 
able improvements in the Willamette Valley. 

In 1829 Dr. McLoughlin began the erection of 
a sawmill at the falls. He caused three houses to 
be erected and some timbers to be squared for a 
mill. This work continued until May, 1830. In 
1829 the Indians there burned these squared tim- 
bers. In 1832 he had a mill-race blasted out of 
the rocks from the head of the island. It has been 
asserted that these improvements were made for 
the Hudson's Bay Company, but were discontinued 
by it because it did not wish to erect valuable im- 
provements there. But in the McLoughlin Docu- 
ment he says : "I had selected for a claim, Oregon 
City, in 1829, made improvements on it, and had 
a large quantity of timber squared." Who ever 
knew or heard of Dr. McLoughlin telling a lie? 
That he was a man of the highest honor and truth- 
fulness is established beyond all doubt. This claim 
was taken by him in the same year that Lucier set- 
tled in the Willamette Valley. It is evident that 
Dr. McLoughlin took this claim, for his old age 
and for the benefit of himself and children.^^ From 
about 1838 until the passage of the Donation Land 
Law in 1850, he openly and continuously asserted 
his right to his land claim, including Abernethy 
Island. No adverse claim was made until about 
July, 1840, less than sixty days after the arrival of 
the ship Lausanne, when certain members of the 
Methodist Mission began to plan to take these 

^^ See Document L. 



I04 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

lands and rights from Dr. McLoughlin, and in the 
end succeeded, but only partially for themselves. 
Dr. McLoughlin's right to his land claim was as 
good as that of any other person in Oregon to his 
own land claim. April i, 1843, Dr. Elijah White, 
who came to Oregon in 1837, as a Methodist mis- 
sionary, but was then United States Sub-Agent of 
Indian Affairs, in an official report to the Com- 
missioner of Indian Affairs, at Washington, D. C, 
said of the Shortess petition, to which I shall pres- 
ently refer: "A petition started from this country 
today, making bitter complaints against the Hud- 
son's Bay Company and Governor McLoughlin. 
On reference to it (a copy was denied) I shall only 
say, had any gentleman disconnected with the 
Hudson's Bay Company been at half the pains and 
expense to establish a claim on the Wallamet 
Falls, very few would have raised any opposi- 
tion." ^^ Under the joint-occupancy every British 
subject had the same or equal rights in the Oregon 
Country that a citizen of the United States had. 

December 18, 1839, Senator Linn introduced a 
series of resolutions in the United States Senate, 
which were referred to a select Committee. 
March 31, 1840, this Committee reported a sub- 
stitute. The chief feature was a provision for 
granting to each male inhabitant of Oregon, over 
eighteen years of age, one thousand acres of land. 
December 16, 1841, Senator Linn introduced his 
famous bill thereafter known as the "Linn Bill," 
which granted six hundred and forty acres of land 
to every white male inhabitant of Oregon, of eigh- 

'^ White's Ten Years in Oregon, p. 200. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 105 

teen years or over, who should cultivate the same 
for five years. This bill was favorably reported 
back to the Senate and subsequently passed the 
Senate, but failed in the House. The Oregon Do- 
nation Land Law was largely based on this bill. 
In neither the Linn resolution nor in the Linn bill 
was any difference made between American citi- 
zens and British subjects, or other aliens as to the 
right to take land. The Oregon Donation Land 
Law of September 27, 1850, applied to every white 
settler (including aliens) over eighteen years of 
age then a resident of Oregon, or who should be- 
come such a resident prior to December i, 1850, 
except Dr. McLoughlin. In case of an alien he 
must either have made his declaration, according 
to law, to become a citizen of the United States 
prior to the passage of the Donation Land Law or 
do so prior to December i, 1851. The Linn bill 
was largely instrumental in causing the early im- 
migrations to Oregon. It was felt by these immi- 
grants that it, or a similar law, was bound to pass 
Congress. The Oregon Donation Land Law was 
such a law. Dr. McLoughlin believed that such a 
bill was bound to become a law. 

The Methodist Mission, as a mission, did not, 
officially, attempt to deprive Dr. McLoughlin of 
any of his land. There were some of the mission- 
aries who opposed any such action. But others of 
them saw that if the Mission obtained any of Dr. 
McLoughlin's land claim, it would belong to the 
Mission or to the Church, so they readily pro- 
ceeded, as individuals, for their own private gain. 
In 1840, shortly after the arrival of the Lausanne, 



io6 Dr. John McLoughlin 

Rev. Jason Lee, as Superintendent of the Metho- 
dist Mission, appointed Rev. A. F. Waller to labor 
for the Indians at Willamette Falls and vicinity. 
The Mission took up a claim of six hundred and 
forty acres north of Dr. McLoughlin's claim. The 
Mission's religious work was done by Waller on 
this claim, where Gladstone Park is now situated, 
and also at a point on the west bank of the Willam- 
ette River opposite Oregon City. At both of 
these places there were a number of Indians.^^ In 
the summer of 1840 Waller was sent to establish 
this Mission. Dr. McLoughlin generously assist- 
ed the undertaking. He gave the Mission a piece 
of land in his claim on which to erect a mission- 
house; and, at the request of Rev. Jason Lee, the 
Superintendent of the Mission, Dr. McLoughlin 
loaned it some of the timbers, which he had caused 
to be squared, to build the mission-house. Timbers 
to take the place of those so loaned were never 
furnished to Dr. McLoughlin, nor were the tim- 
bers ever paid for.^^ It was soon reported to Dr. 
McLoughlin that the Methodist Mission would 
try to take or to jump his claim. He at once (July 
21, 1840) notified Jason Lee, Superintendent of 
the Mission, of the facts: That Dr. McLoughlin 
had taken possession of this land claim in 1829, 
and also of his intention to hold this land as a pri- 
vate claim. He gave Lee the general description 
of the land so claimed by Dr. McLoughlin, viz: 
"From the upper end of the falls across to the 
Clackamas river, and down where the Clackamas 

*'Rev. Dr, H. K. Hines, Missionary History, p. 354. 
'* See Document L. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 107 

falls into the Willamette, including the whole 
point of land, and the small island in the falls on 
which the portage was made." This is the island 
later known as "Governor's" or "Abernethy" Is- 
land. After giving the notice mentioned, Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin concluded his letter with these words: 
"This is not to prevent your building the store, 
as my object is merely to establish my claim." A 
satisfactory answer was returned and Waller pro- 
ceeded in the erection of the mission-house, which 
was divided into two apartments, one of which 
served as a dwelling, and the other as a storeroom 
for the goods of the Mission.^^ 

In 1 841 Felix Hathaway, in the employment of 
the Mission, began to build a house on the island, 
at which Dr. McLoughlin remonstrated with Wal- 
ler, but the latter assured Dr. McLoughlin that no 
wrong was intended and Hathaway stopped his 
building operations. Matters ran smoothly until 
the autumn of 1842. By this time Dr. McLough- 
lin had again made improvements on his claim, 
having it surveyed and part of it laid off in town 
lots and blocks, which he named Oregon City. 
Some of these lots and blocks he gave away, some 
he sold. I cannot go into all the evasive actions of 
Waller and the false statements and claims made 
by him, and by John Ricord, his attorney, in rela- 
tion to Waller's supposed rights to Dr. McLough- 
lin's land claim. Waller employed Ricord as an at- 
torney and asserted his ownership of all the 
McLoughlin land claim, except Abernethy Island, 

" Vol. I, p. 204, History of Oregon, Bancroft's Works. See also 
Document L. 



io8 Dr. John McLoughlin 

to which the Oregon Milling Company laid claim. 
A public proclamation signed by Ricord as at- 
torney for Waller, although dated December 20, 

1843, was publicly posted at Oregon City early in 

1844. It set forth the alleged illegality of Dr. 
McLoughlin's claim and the imaginary rights of 
Waller."^ Whatever possession Waller had of any 
part of this land was due to the kind permission of 
Dr. McLoughlin. Waller attempted to turn this 
kindness into a question of right to the whole land 
claim, excepting Abernethy Island. An agreement 
or settlement, dated April 4, 1844, was executed 
by Rev. A. F. Waller, Rev. David Leslie, acting 
Superintendent of the Methodist Mission, and by 
Dr. McLoughlin. Under this agreement Dr. 
McLoughlin was compelled to pay Waller five 
hundred dollars and to convey to Waller eight 
lots and three blocks in Oregon City, and also to 
convey to the Methodist Mission six lots and one 
block in Oregon City. What right the Mission had 
to insist on the conveyance to it of this land has 
never been explained -Waller, in said agreement 
or settlement, surrendering and forever abandon- 
ing to Dr. McLoughlin "all claims, rights, and 
pretensions whatsoever" which Waller had to the 
land claim of Dr. McLoughlin, which is described 
in said agreement as "a tract of land situated at 
the falls of the Wallamette River on the east side 
of said River, containing six hundred and forty 
acres, and surveyed by Jesse Applegate in the 
month of December, A. D. 1843." This survey 
included Abernethy Island. There were not then 

*' This proclamation is set forth in full in Document I. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 109 

any courts in Oregon to which Dr. McLoughlin 
could apply for relief, as he had not then joined 
the Provisional Government. It was probably 
better and cheaper for him to submit to this unfair 
agreement, otherwise he would have been com- 
pelled to allow Waller to take the land or to have 
ousted him by force. ^^ 

July 15, 1844, about three months after this set- 
tlement. Rev. George Gary, who was then closing 
the Methodist Mission in Oregon and disposing 
of its property, in a letter to Dr. McLoughlin 
offered to sell back these lots and block given to 
the Mission by Dr. McLoughlin, with the im- 
provements thereon, excluding the two lots given 
by Dr. McLoughlin in 1840 on which the Metho- 
dist Church was built. Gary valued the lots to be 
sold at two thousand, two hundred dollars, and the 
improvements thereon at three thousand, eight 
hundred dollars. Gary made the conditions that 
the possession of a warehouse should be reserved 
until June, 1845, ^^^ ^he house occupied by 
George Abernethy until August, 1845. Gary made 
some other reservations and wrote that there must 
be an answer in a day or two. Dr. McLoughlin 
considered this offer extortionate. He wrote an 
answer to Gary calling attention to the fact that 
he had so recently given the lots to the Mission, 
that it would be the fairest way for Gary to give 
Dr. McLoughlin back the lots, since the Mission 
had no longer any use for them, and let him pay 
for the improvements; that one of the houses was 
built with lumber borrowed from him and had 

"' This agreement is set forth in full in Document J. 



no Dr. John McLoughltn 



not been paid for. He suggested that the matter 
be referred to the Missionary Board. But Gary 
rejected every proposal. Dr. McLoughlin was 
compelled to yield and agreed to pay the six thou- 
sand dollars demanded by Gary.^^ Notwithstand- 
ing the fact that this agreement executed by Wal- 
ler and Leslie, dated April 4, 1844, was made as a 
final settlement of the matter, the conspirators de- 
termined to deprive Dr. McLoughlin of his land 
claim, even if they did not profit by it. They suc- 
ceeded by means of the Oregon Donation Law, as 
I shall presently show. These conspirators had 
previously arranged to take or "jump" Abernethy 
Island. 

Rev. Dr. H. K. Hines was too honorable a man 
to justify these proceedings. As he came to Ore- 
gon in 1853, it appears that he did not know all 
the facts, but such as he knew, even from Metho- 
dist missionary sources, did not commend Wal- 
ler's actions to Hines in regard to Dr. McLough- 
lin and his land claim. In his Missionary History, 
pages 353-355, Dr. Hines says: "At Oregon City 
the Mission as such deemed it wisest not to file any 
claim as against that of Dr. McLoughlin, Chief 
Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Vancou- 
ver, who had made some movements toward 
the occupation of that valuable property before the 
Mission was established. Perhaps all in the coun- 
try at that time, Mr. Lee included, did not con- 
sider the claim of Dr. McLoughlin as a British 



"Vol. 1, p. 253, History of the Pacific Northivest, by Elwood 
Evans; The River of the West, by Frances Fuller Victor, pp. 360, 361; 
Vol. I, pp. 224, 225, History of Oregon, Bancroft's Works. 



Dr. John McLoughlin m 

subject and the head of a great British corpora- 
tion, such a claim as would be recognized in law 
when the government of the United States should 
extend its jurisdiction over the country, which they 
believed it was sure to do in a short time. . . . 
The mission work at this general point was mostly 
done on the avest side of the river at The Falls, 
and at the villages on the Clackamas where 'Glad- 
stone Park' is now situated, and where the Mission 
had a farm, and a claim of a square mile of land. 
This stood in exactly the same relation to the Board 
as did the claim at The Dalles and at Salem. 

"It is proper that we say here that much contro- 
versy arose at Oregon City through the fact that 
Rev. A. F. Waller filed a claim in his own behalf 
on the land to which Dr. McLoughlin was also 
laying claim, on the ground that the latter, being 
a British subject, could not obtain title under the 
land laws of the United States. With this the Mis- 
sion, as such, had no connection whatever, and 
hence this history does not deal with the question." 
Nevertheless, joint-occupancy. Senator Linn's reso- 
lution and bill, the Donation Land Law, subse- 
quently passed, natural justice and right, and com- 
mon decency should have been recognized as giv- 
ing Dr. McLoughlin full right to his land claim 
from the beginning. 

At least three of the Methodist missionaries and 
those connected with the Methodist Mission were 
not citizens of the United States at any time prior 
to the passage of the Donation Land Law in 1850. 
Rev. Jason Lee was a native of Canada and died 
in Canada. He did not become a citizen of the 



112 Dr. John McLoughlin 

United States. His allegiance was always that of 
a British subject. Jason Lee was of English de- 
scent. His parents were born in the United States 
but settled at Stanstead, Canada, and made it their 
home several years prior to his birth. He was 
born at Stanstead in 1803 ^^^ that was his home 
until 1834, when he came to Oregon. For a num- 
ber of years he worked in the pineries in the north 
of Canada. In 1826 he was "converted" and 
joined the Wesleyan Church of Canada. In 1827 
he entered the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, 
Massachusetts. After attending that Academy 
for a time, he returned to his home at Stanstead, 
where he stayed for several years, first teaching 
school and afterwards becoming a preacher of the 
Wesleyan Church of Canada. For several years 
he had desired to be a missionary among the In- 
dians and in 1832 or 1833 offered his services as a 
missionary to the Indians of Canada to the Wes- 
leyan Missionary Society of London. In 1833, 
while waiting a reply to his application, he was 
offered the appointment by the New England Con- 
ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of 
"Missionary to the Flathead Indians," and was ad- 
mitted as a member of the latter Conference. In 
the spring of 1834 he started for Oregon, which, 
during the rest of his life, was jointly occupied 
by citizens of the United States and subjects of 
Great Britain under the Conventions between 
these countries. The political status of a resident 
of Oregon then remained as it was when he arrived 
in Oregon. It could not be changed there during 
joint-occupancy. He died at Lake Memphrema- 



Dr. John McLoughlin 113 

gog in Canada, March 2, 1845. His body was 
buried at Stanstead. These facts I have obtained 
mostly from Dr. Hines' Missionary History of the 
Pacific Northwest^ and I have verified them from 
other reliable sources. 

Rev. Daniel Lee was also born in Canada. Up 
to the time of his return to the Eastern States in 
1843, he had not become a citizen of the United 
States. As the rest of his life was spent as a Metho- 
dist minister in the United States, he probably be- 
came a citizen of the latter country. Rev. Daniel 
Lee, I believe, took no part in, nor did he encour- 
age, or sympathize with any action against Dr. 
McLoughlin. 

Joseph Holman (not a relative of mine) was 
born in England, August 20, 18 15. In 1833 he 
went to Canada where he lived for several years. 
About 1836 or 1837 he went to Ohio and later went 
to Illinois. In 1839 he started for Oregon. He 
arrived at Fort Vancouver June i, 1840, the same 
day the Lausanne arrived there. In 1840 or 1841 
he became connected with the Methodist Mission. 
Shortly after his arrival he took up a land claim 
a mile square near the present city of Salem. A 
person could not become a citizen of the United 
States until he had resided therein for at least five 
years. So he could not become such a citizen in 
the East for he had not resided in the United States 
more than three years when he started for Oregon 
in 1839. It was in Oregon, after the United States 
Courts were established in 1849, that Joseph Hol- 
man first made application to become a citizen of 
the United States and became one. As Jason Lee 



114 Dr. John McLoughlin 

and Daniel Lee took up the land on which the 
Methodist Mission was situated and they were 
British subjects, their rights as land claimants 
were the same as those of Dr. McLoughlin. The 
Mission, as such, had no legal status to acquire 
land prior to the Act of 1848 organizing Oregon 
Territory. The land claim of Joseph Holman 
had the same status as that of Dr. McLoughlin 
- just as good, but no better. 

Abernethy Island. 

I have spoken of this settlement with Waller, 
in 1844, i^ order to treat separately of the taking 
of Abernethy Island from Dr. McLoughlin. The 
land controlling the water-power on the west side 
of the falls of the Willamette River was not taken 
nor claimed by any one until after the year 1841. 
It is on the west side where the water-power of the 
falls is now mostly used. It could have been had 
for the taking at the time Abernethy Island was 
"jumped." Dr. McLoughlin's land claim was on 
the east side of the river. As I have said, Felix 
Hathaway, in the employment of the Mission, in 
1 841 began to build a house on Abernethy Island, 
but after Dr. McLoughlin's remonstrance to Wal- 
ler, the building operations on the island ceased 
at that time. Dr. McLoughlin erected a small 
house on the island. In 1841 the Oregon Milling 
Company was formed. Almost all of its members 
belonged to the Methodist Mission. Hathaway 
conveyed all his right and title to the island to the 
Oregon Milling Company, a part of the consid- 
eration to be paid by a Committee of the Oregon 



Dr. John McLoughlin 115 

Milling Company in behalf of that Company. 
Rev. A. F. Waller is the one first named, of the 
Committee, in the deed. This deed is recorded 
at page 52 of Book 2, Record of Deeds of Clacka- 
mas County. This record shows the date of the 
deed as November 23, 1852. This is evidently an 
error of the copyist, as to the year. It doubtless 
was 1842, for Hathaway, by the deed, conveyed 
all his "right and title to the island on which said 
Company are now constructing millsy''^ etc. This 
is a very religious deed. Hathaway in this con- 
veyance covenanted to warrant and defend the is- 
land against all persons "(the Lord excepted)." 
Among the cargo of the Lausanne, which all 
belonged to the Methodist Mission, was machin- 
ery for flour-mills and for saw-mills. The Metho- 
dist Mission established both a saw-mill and a 
grist-mill, run by water-power, near Chemekete 
(now Salem). These were in operation in 1841. 
These mills were much nearer the Willamette set- 
tlements than Oregon City was. In the Fall of 
1842 the Oregon Milling Company had erected 
a saw-mill on the island, intending to follow it 
with the erection of a flour-mill. It will be noted 
that there were then no courts in Oregon, for the 
Provisional Government was not organized until 
1843. Dr. McLoughlin and the Hudson's Bay 
Company were not under the jurisdiction of the 
Provisional Government until 1845. In the fall of 
1842 Dr. McLoughlin became satisfied that it was 
the intention of some of the Methodist missionaries 
to take his land and to deprive him of his water 
rights. To save his interests he forthwith built a 



ii6 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

saw-mill on the river bank near the island, and 
gave notice that he would erect a flour-mill in a 
short time. 

The Short ess Petition. 

The enemies of Dr. McLoughlin then deter- 
mined to send a petition to Congress. It is said 
that this petition was drawn by George Abernethy, 
who then, as steward of the Mission, kept its store 
at Oregon City, and had charge of all its secular 
affairs, but that Abernethy was unwilling to have 
it known that he was connected with the petition, 
so it was copied by a clerk, named Albert E. Wil- 
son. Abernethy wished to appear friendly to Dr. 
McLoughlin; to act otherwise might hurt the 
Mission and Abernethy in his business. ^^ The first 
signature to this petition was that of Robert Short- 
ess, who arrived in the Willamette Valley in April, 

1840. He joined the Methodist Church about 

1841. He was then intense in his dislike of the 
Hudson's Bay Company and its officers. From the 
fact that he was the first signer, this petition is 
known as the "Shortess petition." It was signed 
by sixty-five persons. Of these about one-third 
were immigrants of 1842, who had been in the 
country less than six months. This petition is ad- 
dressed to Congress. It is dated March 25, 1843. 
It begins with a short statement that the petitioners 
have no laws to govern them. That "where the 
highest court of appeal is the rifle, safety in life 
and property cannot be depended on." Until these 



** Vol. I, p. 207, History of Oregon, Bancroft's Works; Vol. i, 
p. 243, Elwood Evans's History of the Pacific Northivesi. See also Doc- 
ument H. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 117 

people attempted unfairly to take Dr. McLough- 
lin's land, the Golden Rule had prevailed and the 
appeal to the rifle was always "conspicuous by its 
absence." This petition then calls attention to the 
domination of the Hudson's Bay Company, and 
its successful opposition to Bonneville and Wyeth, 
and that that Company formerly would not sell 
cattle, and its opposition to the loan of cows and 
the return of the increase, which is true; and that 
in case of the death of a cow, the settler had to pay 
-which is false. 

This petition further sets forth that in 1842 the 
settlers formed a company for supplying lumber 
and flour. That they selected an island at the falls 
of the Willamette. That after commencing they 
were informed by Dr. McLoughlin that the land 
was his. This is true, as to the company and the 
information by Dr. McLoughlin, but false, by in- 
direction, in this, that they knew the island for 
years had been claimed by him as his property. 
The petition proceeds, "However, he erected a 
shed on the island, after the stuff was on the island 
to build a house, and then gave them permission to 
build under certain restrictions. They took the 
paper he wrote them containing his conditions, but 
did not obligate themselves to comply with the 
conditions, as they did not think his claim just or 
reasonable." In the latter statement the members 
of the Oregon Milling Company, who signed the 
petition, stated an estoppel to themselves. They 
could not enter into possession under conditions 
and then refuse to abide by them. This was plead- 
ing themselves out of Court, not to mention their 
admitted breach of faith. 



ii8 Dr. John McLoughlin 

This petition then mentions the erection of the 
saw-mill by the Oregon Milling Company and 
complains of the erection of a mill by Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin, and says that he can manufacture lum- 
ber cheaper than the Milling Company can. 
Nevertheless, the Oregon Milling Company suc- 
ceeded. This petition then goes into puerility 
about the measurement of wheat by the Hudson's 
Bay Company, which Dr. White in his report, 
dated April i, 1843, to the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs, and hereinbefore referred to, says is un- 
true, for he knows the measure to be exact. This 
petition does not state (which is true) that when 
Dr. McLoughlin found that wheat weighed more 
than sixty pounds to the bushel, he raised the price 
paid to settlers, correspondingly. This petition 
sets forth, however, that Dr. McLoughlin had sur- 
veyed his claim, platted it, and called it Oregon 
City; and that he had given a notice dated January 
18, 1843, requiring all persons claiming lots on 
his land, before February i, 1843, to apply for a 
deed, or a bond for a deed, as the case might be, 
which he would give. Dr. McLoughlin required 
a payment of five dollars to his attorney for mak- 
ing the deed or bond. As these people were all 
trespassers, it would seem that this action of Dr. 
McLoughlin was a very generous one. 

There is a very significant phrase in the Shortess 
petition, which indicates that the conspiracy to de- 
prive Dr. McLoughlin of his land claim had its 
inception before that time. In this petition, after 
saying that Dr. McLoughlin did not own his Ore- 
gon City land claim, it is said "and which we hope 



Dr. John McLoughlin 119 

he never will own." This phrase is omitted in the 
copy of the Shortess petition in Gray's History of 
Oregon and in Brown's Political History of Ore- 
gon.*^ This phrase is referred to in Thurston's 
speech of December 26, 1850, as justifying his ac- 
tions in giving Dr. McLoughlin's land claim to 
Oregon for an university."*^ I shall not discuss some 
of the allegations of this petition, as they are trivial 
and unimportant. This petition was given to 
W. C. Sutton to be taken to Washington. Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin applied to Shortess for a copy of this 
petition, but the request was refused. 

Land Laws of the Provisional Government. 

As I have stated, in July, 1843, the Provisional 
Government went into effect. Its land laws were 
purposely framed against Dr. McLoughlin's 
claim, and in favor of the Methodist Mission. 
These land laws allowed any person, without re- 
gard to citizenship, who was then holding or 
wished to establish a land claim in Oregon, not 
exceeding 640 acres, "in a square or oblong form, 
according to the natural situation of the premises," 
to have such land claim. Those in possession were 
allowed one year in which to file a description of 
the claim in the Recorder's office. Dr. McLough- 
lin filed his description in 1843. The survey was 
made by Jesse Applegate in 1843. The record is 
now in the office of the Secretary of State at Salem, 
Oregon. In having this survey made Dr. Mc- 

" See Document H, which is a true copy of all the Shortess peti- 
tion as printed in 1844 W order of the United States Senate. 

*^ See Document N. 



I20 Dr. John McLoughlin 

Loughlin had it extend only about half way from 
the falls to the Clackamas River and so as to in- 
clude not more than six hundred and forty acres. 
He abandoned that part of his original claim ex- 
tending between his new north line and the Clack- 
amas River. 

Article 4 of these land laws of 1843 was the one 
intended to deprive Dr. McLoughlin of his claim. 
It was as follows: "Art. 4. No person shall be en- 
titled to hold such a claim upon city or town sites, 
extensive water privileges, or other situations nec- 
essary for the transaction of mercantile or manu- 
facturing operations, to the detriment of the com- 
munity: Provided, that nothing in these laws shall 
be so construed as to efifect any claim of any mis- 
sion of a religious character, made previous to this 
time, of an extent of not more than six miles 
squared This land law was amended in July, 
1845. The only material change, so far as is neces- 
sary for the purposes of this monograph, was that 
said Section 4 of the land laws of 1843 was re- 
pealed. It was after the repeal of the objection- 
able and unfair Section 4 of the land laws of 1843 
that Dr. McLoughlin for himself and the Hud- 
son's Bay Company joined the Provisional Gov- 
ernment. 

Dr. McLoughlin's Naturalization. 

After Dr. McLoughlin sent his resignation to 
the Hudson's Bay Company, in 1845, he deter- 
mined to become a citizen of the United States. In 
1845 he consulted with Peter H. Burnett, then 
Chief-Justice of the Provisional Government, and 
with Jesse Applegate, about taking the oath of al- 



Dr. John McLoughlin 121 

legiance to the United States, and taking out his 
first naturalization papers, but Burnett had no 
authority from the United States, or other juris- 
diction, to administer such an oath (or to issue 
such papers) and so advised Dr. McLoughlin. 
Although this matter was well known in Oregon, 
it gave Dr. McLoughlin's enemies a chance to say 
that he was a British subject, and had not taken 
the oath of allegiance to the United States, nor 
applied to become a citizen of the United States. 
August 14, 1848, the bill establishing the Territory 
of Oregon became a law. March 2, 1849, General 
Joseph Lane, the first Territorial Governor of 
Oregon, arrived at Oregon City. March 3, 1849, 
he issued his proclamation assuming charge as 
governor. Soon after the Territory of Oregon 
was organized and courts of the United States 
established. The assignment of Judges to their re- 
spective districts was made May 13, 1849. May 
30, 1849, Dr. McLoughlin took the oath and made 
his declaration to become a citizen of the United 
States, as required by the naturalization law. So 
he acted with promptness. This was well knovv^n in 
Oregon at the time. Dr. McLoughlin voted at 
Oregon City at the first general election held in 
June, 1849, but he did not vote for Thurston as 
delegate to Congress, which Thurston knew. 
Under the act of Congress, organizing Oregon as 
a territory, all aliens who had declared, on oath, 
their intentions to become citizens of the United 
States, and taken an oath to support the Constitu- 
tion of the United States and the provisions of the 
act establishing the Territorial Government of 
Oregon, were entitled to vote at the first election. 



122 Dr. John McLoughltn 

Dr. McLoughlin became a citizen of the United 
States, at Oregon City, September 5, 1851. The 
naturalization law then allowed an alien to be- 
come a citizen of the United States two years after 
taking the oath and making his declaration, if he 
had lived in the United States for five years. His 
witnesses were A. L. Lovejoy, A. A. Skinner, and 
Theodore Magruder. His admission to citizen- 
ship was based on his said oath and declaration of 
May 30, 1849. 

Conspiracy against Dr. McLoughlin. 

It was in 1849 that the conspiracy against Dr. 
McLoughlin and his land claim began to become 
effective. In 1846 Governor Abernethy became 
the sole owner of the Oregon Milling Company 
and its property on Abernethy Island, Abernethy 
and his son claiming to own the island, which was 
then known as "Governor's Island," in supposed 
compliment to Governor Abernethy. W. P. Bry- 
ant, the first Territorial Chief-Justice of Oregon, 
arrived in Oregon April 9, 1849. May 29, 1849, 
fifty days after his arrival he purchased all said in- 
terests of Gov. Abernethy and son. Bryant gave 
his promissory notes to Gov. Abernethy, aggre- 
gating $30,000 in principal, as part consideration 
for the purchase. Bryant also bought from Gov. 
Abernethy, on time, wheat, flour, and staves for 
about $2500 and a quantity of lumber and logs, 
the value of which I am unable to give. Bryant's 
judicial district included OreQ:on Citv."*" 

In June, 1849, Samuel R. Thurston was elected 

*'^ See Document K. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 123 

Territorial Delegate to Congress from Oregon. 
He arrived in Oregon in the fall of 1847. He was 
shrewd enough to obtain the support of the Mis- 
sion Party. He skillfully made his canvass largely 
against the Hudson's Bay Company. Having the 
support of the Mission Party, and many of the 
voters being then in the California mines, Thurs- 
ton was elected. The vote was as follows: Thurs- 
ton, 470; Columbus Lancaster, 321; J. W. Ne- 
smith, 106; Joseph L. Meek, 40; and J. S. Griffin, 
8. The most important measure for Oregon was 
the passage of a land law, for no person had or 
could then obtain a legal title to land. It was all 
owned by the United States except the small por- 
tions granted to the Missions. Thurston used his 
best endeavors to obtain the passage of such a bill. 
But he was anxious for re-election and to ingrati- 
ate himself with the Mission Party and the con- 
spirators against Dr. McLoughlin. 

Thurston s Letter to Congress. 

Thurston prepared the way, by a letter addressed 
to the members of the House of Representatives, 
for introducing into the land bill a section depriv- 
ing Dr. McLoughlin of his Oregon City claim. 
This letter contains many false statements. This 
section is section eleven of the Donation Land 
Law, which was passed without opposition. To 
this section I shall presently refer. 

This letter to the members of the House of Rep- 
resentatives was issued by Thurston at Washing- 
ton, D. C, in the month of May or the early part 
of June, 1850. Said letter was published in full 



124 Dr. John McLoughlin 

in the Oregon Spectator of September 12, 1850. 
Nothing was known in Oregon or California of 
this letter until late in August or early in Septem- 
ber, 1850. As this letter is quite long and relates 
mostly to the general features of the Oregon Do- 
nation Land Bill and the necessity of its passage, 
I have omitted all that part of the letter excepting 
Thurston's discussion of the eleventh section of 
that bill, which contains all that part of the letter 
referring to Dr. McLoughlin and his land claim. 
In that part of his letter Thurston said: 

"I will next call your attention to the eleventh 
section of the bill, reserving the town site of Ore- 
gon City, known as the 'Oregon City Claim.' The 
capital of our Territory is located here (Oregon 
City) and here is the county seat of Clackamas 
County. It is unquestionably the finest water 
power in the known world; and as it is now, so will 
remain, the great inland business point for the Ter- 
ritory. This claim has been wrongfully wrested by 
Dr. McLoughlin from American citizens. The 
Methodist Mission first took the claim, with the 
view of establishing here their mills and Mission. 
They were forced to leave it under the fear of hav- 
ing the savages of Oregon let loose upon them; 
and, successively, a number of citizens of our Coun- 
try have been driven from it, while Dr. McLough- 
lin was yet at the head of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, west of the Rocky Mountains. Having at his 
command the Indians of the country, he has held it 
by violence and dint of threats up to this time. He 
had sold lots up to the 4th of March, 1849, worth 
$200,000. He also has upon it a flouring mill, 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 125 

graineries, two double sawmills, a large number of 
houses, stores, and other buildings, to which he 
may be entitled by virtue of his possessory rights, 
under the treaty of 1846. For only a part of these 
improvements which he may thus hold, he has been 
urged during the past year to take $250,000. He 
will already have made a half million out of that 
claim. He is still an Englishman, still connected 
in interest with the Hudson's Bay Company, and 
still refuses to file his intentions to become an 
American citizen, and assigns as a reason to the 
Supreme Judge of the Territory, that he cannot do 
it without prejudicing his standing in England. 
Last summer, he informed the writer of this, that 
whatever was made out of this claim was to go into 
the common fund of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
of which he and other stockholders would share in 
proportion to their stock; in other words, that he 
was holding the claim for the benefit of the Com- 
pany. Now, the bill proposes to reserve this 
claim ; subject to whatever right he may have to it, 
or any part of it, by virtue of the treaty; and con- 
firms the title of all lots sold or donated by him 
previous to March 4th, 1849. This is designed to 
prevent litigation. That day is fixed on, because, 
on that day, in Oregon City, Governor Lane took 
possession of the Territory, declaring the laws of 
the United States in force, and apprising Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin and all others, that no one had a right to 
sell or meddle with the Government lands. Dr. 
McLoughlin ought to have been made to pay back 
the $200,000, but not wishing to create any litiga- 
tion, the committee concluded to quiet the w^hole 



126 Dr. John McLoughlin 

matter by confirming the lots. Having in this way 
made $200,000, and his possessory rights, if it 
shall turn out that he lawfully acquired any, being 
worth $200,000 more, the people of Oregon think 
our bounty is sufficient to this man, who has 
worked diligently to break down the settlements 
ever since they commenced; and they ask you to 
save their capital, their county seat, and the bal- 
ance of that noble water power from the grasp of 
this British propagandist, and bestow it on the 
young American generation in Oregon, in the 
shape of education, upon which you and the whole 
Country are to rely and to defend and protect the 
western outposts of this glorious Union. The chil- 
dren of my Country are looking up to you with 
countenances flashing eloquence, clamoring to be 
educated, and asking you, in simple but feeling 
language, where your charity begins. They call 
you 'fathers,' and ask you whether you will put the 
moral weapons of defence in your children's 
hands in the shape of education, or whether you 
will deny it to them, and put means into the hands 
of him who will turn and rend both you and them. 
They do not doubt your decision, nor do I. 

"When the Methodist Missionaries were driven 
from this claim, they went on the island in the mid- 
dle of the river, and constructed mills and made 
other improvements. This island is known as the 
Abernethy Island, and is of no value, except for 
the improvements upon it. It consists of about 
two acres of barren rock. This island was subse- 
quently sold to George Abernethy, and the bill 
ought to confirm the same to Abernethy or his as- 



Dr. John McLoughlin 127 

signs. - This is a simple act of justice to American 
citizens, who now have their mills and property 
staked on those rocks, and which, for a long time, 
stood the only mills in the valley, where an Ameri- 
can could get any grain ground for toll. They are 
now, with the exception of Dr. McLoughlin's 
mills, nearly the only mills in the whole country 
left standing by the late freshet, and they have 
been very materially injured. They must be re- 
paired at vast expense, and if they are not. Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin will hold, as he has heretofore held, the 
bread of the people of the Territory in his own 
fist. Your brethren ask you to confirm their title 
to those rocks, that their property may stand there 
in safety. They doubt not your decision. Hence 
there should be an amendment in the bill to this 
effect." 

It is not true, as asserted by Thurston, that the 
Methodist Mission first took the "Oregon City 
claim." It was first taken by Dr. McLoughlin, as I 
have shown. If the Methodist Mission ever took, 
or had any interest in this land claim, it was 
through a secret agreement or understanding with 
Waller, or with the Oregon Milling Company, 
excepting only the lots given to the Mission by Dr. 
McLoughlin in 1840 and those secured by the 
Mission under the Articles of Agreement, dated 
April 4, 1844." Most of the statements, in the 
parts of this letter just quoted, Thurston knew 
were false. 

Thurston also succeeded in having a proviso 
added to the fourth section of the bill, skillfully 

*• Set forth in Document J. 



128 Dr. John McLoughlin 

worded, which forbade anyone claiming under the 
Donation Land Law to claim both under that law 
and under the treaty of 1846, that treaty providing 
that possessory rights of British subjects should be 
respected. As Dr. McLoughlin had declared, in 
1849, his intentions to become a citizen and re- 
nounced his allegiance to Great Britain, he prob- 
ably was no longer qualified to claim under the 
treaty. But even if he could have claimed under 
the treaty of 1846, as a British subject, that would 
not have given him a right to obtain title to his 
land claim under that treaty. It was afterwards 
held by the Supreme Court of Oregon, in the case 
of Cowenia v. Hannah, 3 Oregon, 465, and by 
Judge M. P. Deady, sitting as United States Cir- 
cuit Judge, in the case of Town v. De Haven, 5 
Sawyer, 146, that the stipulation in the treaty of 
1846 that the United States would respect the pos- 
sessory rights of British subjects, was merely a 
recognition of such possessory rights and conferred 
no right to, or in the land, and that no means 
were provided by the Donation Land Law, or 
otherwise, to obtain title or a patent, but a British 
subject might have a claim against the United 
States for compensation; that a claim to land, 
under the treaty, was to be excluded from any 
rights under the Donation Land Law, and a claim 
to land, under that law, was a surrender of posses- 
sory rights under the treaty. Unquestionably the 
Supreme Court of Oregon and Judge Deady were 
right in their construction of the law, as they found 
it, as applicable to the points involved in those 
cases. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 129 

Article III of the Boundary Treaty of 1846 is 
as follows: "In the future appropriation of the 
territory south of the forty-ninth parallel of north 
latitude, as provided in the first article of this 
treaty, the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, and of all British subjects who may be 
already in the occupation of land or other property 
lawfully acquired within the said territory, shall 
be respected." Good faith, and to carry out the 
letter and the spirit of this Article III, should 
have caused Congress to respect these possessory 
rights of British subjects, so as to make them effec- 
tive, and especially as they had acquired these 
rights under the Conventions for joint-occupancy 
of the Oregon Country. Means should have been 
provided in the Donation Land Law by which 
such British subjects "already in the occupation 
of land" in Oregon could have acquired the title 
thereto. 

In the debate in the House of Representatives, 
May 28, 1850, on the bill which became the Ore- 
gon Donation Land Law, Thurston said:^^ 
"This company [Hudson's Bay Company] 
has been warring against our government for these 
forty years. Dr. McLoughlin has been their chief 
fugleman, first to cheat our government out of the 
whole country, and next to prevent its settlement. 
He has driven men from claims and from the coun- 
try, to stifle the efforts at settlement. In 1845, he 
sent an express to Fort Hall, 800 miles, to warn the 
American emigrants that if they attempted to come 

** Congressional Globe, Vol. 21, Part Second, p. 1079, first Ses- 
sion of 31st Congress. 



130 Dr. John McLoughlin 

to Willamette they would all be cut ofif; they 
went, and none were cut off. How, sir, would you 
reward Benedict Arnold, were he living? He 
fought the battles of the country, yet by one act of 
treason forfeited the respect of that country. A 
bill for his relief would fail, I am sure; yet this' 
bill proposes to reward those who are now, have 
been, and ever will be, more hostile to our country 
- more dangerous, because more hidden, more 
Jesuitical. I can refer you to the Supreme Judge 
of our territory, for proof that this Dr. McLough- 
lin refuses to file his intention to become an Amer- 
ican citizen." Judge Bryant was then in Washing- 
ton, lobbying for the passage of the eleventh sec- 
tion of the Donation Land Law, particularly the 
part giving Abernethy's Island to the assigns of 
the Milling Company. I have already shown the 
falsity of these statements of Thurston in his letter 
and in this speech, by setting forth the truth in 
this monograph. The mention by Thurston, in his 
speech, of Benedict Arnold in comparison with 
Dr. McLoughlin, was contemptible. It was an in- 
sinuation which Thurston should have been 
ashamed to make. 

On September 12, 1850, Dr. McLoughlin pub- 
lished in the Oregon Spectator his answer to some 
of the statements, or rather misstatements, in 
Thurston's speech in Congress, May 28, 1850, and 
in his letter to the House of Representatives. Dr. 
McLoughlin there said: "What Mr. Thurston 
means by 'warring against our government for 
these forty years,' I know not. I am certain, how- 
ever, that the H. B. Co. had a right to carry on 



Dr. John McLon^hlin 131 

trade under the treaty of joint-occupation of the 
country - even were we to look no farther for an- 
other foundation of the right. I am sure, more- 
over, that the business of the Company was so man- 
aged as to bear the strictest scrutiny, and to be in 
all respects subservient to the best interests of the 
country, and the duties of religion and humanity. 
. . . But I am described as a 'fugleman' of the 
Hudson's Bay Company; first to cheat our Govern- 
ment out of the whole country, and next to prevent 
its settlement. I am an old man, and my head is 
very white with the frost of many winters, but I 
have never before been accused as a cheat. I was 
born a British subject - I have had for twenty years 
the superintendence of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany's trade, in Oregon, and on the North West 
Coast; and may be said to have been the represen- 
tative of British interests in this country; but I have 
never descended to court popularity, by pandering 
to prejudice, and doing wrong to any one. I have 
on the other hand, afforded every assistance to all 
who required it, and which religion and humanity 
dictated; and this community can say if I did so 
or not. . . . But, moreover, it is well known 
that the fact of my having aided in the settlement 
of this country has been a subject of serious com- 
plaints, and grave charges made against me, by 
subjects of Her Britannic Majesty, during the 
pending of the boundary question - who seem to 
have been imbued with the same kind disposition 
toward their fellow men as Mr. Thurston. 

"Mr. Thurston says, 'In 1845 he [Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin] sent an express to Fort Hall, eight hun- 



132 Dr. John McLoughlin 

dred miles, to warn the immigration that if they 
attempted to come to the Willamette, they would 
be all cut off.' This is a calumny as gratuitous as 
it is unprovoked; but it is with mingled emotions 
of astonishment and indignation that I have acci- 
dentally become acquainted with the contents of 
another document, entitled a 'Letter of the Dele- 
gate from Oregon to the members of the House 
of Representatives, in behalf of his constituents, 
touching the Oregon Land Bill.' On the back of 
the only copy sent, is written in the handwriting of 
Mr. Thurston- 'Keep this still till next mail, 
when I shall send them generally. The debate on 
the California Bill closes next Tuesday, when I 
hope to get it and passed - my land bill; keep dark 
till next mail. 
"June 9, 1850. Thurston.'" 

"... In the letter referred to, speaking of 
Oregon City, he says, 'The Methodist Mission first 
took the claim with the view of establishing here 
their Mills and Mission - they were forced to leave 
it under the fear of having the savages of Oregon 
let loose upon them.' This charge is likewise with- 
out a fraction of truth, as a few facts will demon- 
strate. . . . Mr. Thurston is not ashamed to 
more than intimate a disposition to 'let loose upon 
them savages of Oregon.' Mr. Thurston says, 'He 
has held it by violence and dint of threats up to this 
time.'-That I have held my claim or any part of it 
[Dr. McLoughlin's land claim] by violence or 
threats, no man will assert, and far less will one be 
found to swear so, who will be believed on his oath, 
in a court of justice. I have probably no other 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 133 

enemy than Mr. Thurston, so lost to the suggestions 
of conscience as to make a statement so much at 
variance with my whole character. He says that I 
have realized, up to the 4th of March, 1849, $200,- 

000 from the sale of lots; this is also wholly untrue. 

1 have given away lots to the Methodists, Catho- 
lics, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Bap- 
tists. I have given 8 lots to a Roman Catholic 
Nunnery, 8 lots to the Clackamas Female Protest- 
ant Seminary, incorporated by the Oregon Legis- 
lature. The Trustees are all Protestants, although 
it is well known I am a Roman Catholic. In short, 
in one way and another I have donated to the 
county, to schools, to churches, and private indi- 
viduals, more than three hundred town lots, and I 
never realized in cash $20,000 from all the origi- 
nal sales I have made. He continues, 'He is still 
an Englishman, still connected with the Hudson's 
Bay Company, and refuses to file his intentions to 
become an American citizen.' If I was an Eng- 
lishman, I know^ no reason why I should not ac- 
knowledge it; but I am a Canadian by birth, and 
an Irishman by descent. I am neither ashamed of 
my birth-place or lineage. ... I declared my 
intention to become an American citizen on the 
30th May, 1849, as any one may see who will ex- 
amine the records of the court, in this place. Mr. 
Thurston knew this fact - he asked me for my vote 
and influence. Why did he ask me for my vote if I 
had not one to give? I voted and voted against 
him, as he well knew, and as he seems well to re- 
member. But he proceeds to refer to Judge Bryant 
for the truth of his statement, in which he affirms 



134 Dr. John McLoughlin 

that I assigned to Judge Bryant, as a reason why I 
still refuse to declare my intention to become an 
American citizen, that I cannot do it without prej- 
udicing my standing in England. I am astonished 
how the Supreme Judge could have made such a 
statement 1 as he had a letter from me pointing out 
my intention of becoming an American citizen. 
The cause, which led to my writing this letter, is 
that the island, called Abernethy's Island by Mr. 
Thurston, and which he proposes to donate to Mr. 
Abernetby, his heirs and assigns, is the same island 
which Mr. Hathaway and others jumped in 1841, 
and formed themselves into a joint stock company, 
and erected a saw and grist mill on it, as already 
stated. From a desire to preserve peace in the 
country, I deferred bringing the case to trial, till 
the government extended its jurisdiction over the 
country; but when it had done so, a few days after 
the arrival of Judge Bryant and before the courts 
were organized. Judge Bryant bought the island 
of George Abernethy, Esq., who had bought the 
stock of the other associates, and as the Island was 
in Judge Bryant's district, and as there was only 
two judges in the Territory, I thought I could not 
at the time bring the case to a satisfactory decision. 
I therefore deferred bringing the case forward to 
a time when the bench would be full. . 
But Mr. Thurston makes another statement in 
which there is not more truth. He says, 'Last 
summer he,' meaning myself, 'informed the writer 
of this that whatever was made out of the claim 
was to go to the common fund of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, of which he and other stock-holders 



Dr. John McLoughlin 13 S 

would share in proportion to their slock; in other 
words, that he was holding this claim in trust for 
the Hudson's Bay Company.' ... I assert I 
never made such a statement to Mr. Thurston, and 
I assert that I hold my claim for myself alone, and 
that the Hudson's Bay Company, nor no other per- 
son or persons, hold or have any interest in it with 
me. . . . Can the people of Oregon City and 
its vicinity believe Mr. Thurston did not know, 
some months before he left this [territory], that 
Mr. Abernethy had sold his rights, whatever they 
were, to Judge Bryant, and therefore proposing to 
Congress to donate this Island to Mr. Abernethy, 
his heirs and assigns, was, in fact, proposing to do- 
nate it to Judge Bryant, his heirs and assigns.'"*^ 

Thurston attempted to reply to this letter of Dr. 
McLoughlin, published in the Oregon Spectator, 
in a speech made in Congress December 26, 1850.''® 
With all its false statements this speech utterly 
failed to justify the actions of Thurston against Dr. 
McLoughlin. 

Lieutenant Neil M. Howison, of the United 
States Navy, came to Oregon in 1846, in charge 
of the United States schooner "Shark." He made 
a report on Oregon to the Com.mander of the Pa- 
cific squadron. The report is dated at San Fran- 
cisco, February i, 1847. It was printed by order 
of the House of Representatives, at Washington, in 
1848, more than t\\^o years prior to Thurston's 
speech. It is Miscellaneous Document No. 29 of 



*^ This letter of Dr. McLoughlin is set forth in full in Document 
L. See also letter of William J. Berry, Document M. 

^^ See Document N, where excerpts from this speech are set forth. 



136 Dr. John McLoughlin 

the first session of the 30th Congress. In this re- 
port, after speaking in praise of Dr. McLoughlin, 
Howison said of him : "He resides now altogether 
at Oregon City . . . and has, by his advice 
and assistance, done more than any other man to- 
wards the rapid development of the resources of 
this country." Lieutenant Howison also said, in 
this report, that Dr. McLoughlin "has settled him- 
self on the south side of the river [Columbia] with 
full expectation of becoming a citizen of the 
United States, and I hope the government at home 
will duly appreciate him." 

In the report of Dr. Elijah White, dated Wil- 
lamette Valley, Oregon, November 15, 1843, to 
J. M. Porter, Secretary of War, Dr. White said: 
"And here allow me to say, the seasonable service, 
in which hundreds of dollars were gratuitously ex- 
pended in assisting such numbers of our poor emi- 
grant citizens down the Columbia to the Wil- 
lamette, entitles Gov. McLoughlin, saying nothing 
of his previous fatherly and fostering care of this 
colony, to the honorable consideration of the mem- 
bers of this government. And I hope, as he is 
desirous to settle with his family in this country, 
and has made a claim at the falls of the Willamette, 
his claim will be honored in such a manner as to 
make him conscious that we, as a nation, are not 
insensible to his numerous acts of benevolence and 
hospitality towards our countrymen. Sir, in the 
midst of slander, envy, jealousy, and, in too many 
instances, of the blackest ingratitude, his unceas- 
ing, never tiring hospitality afifects me, and makes 
him appear in a widely different light than too 



Dr. John McLoughlin 137 

many would have him and his worthy associates 
appear before the world." ^^ 

Protests against Thurston's Actions. 

As shown in Dr. McLoughlin's printed letter of 
September 12, 1850, Thurston had sent to a con- 
fidant in Oregon, with instructions for secrecy, a 
printed copy of his letter to the House of Repre- 
sentatives. He also sent a printed copy of the bill 
for the Donation Land Law. These arrived in 
Oregon late in August or early in September, 1850. 
The eleventh section of the latter began to be noised 
about, and Thurston's friends, who were not in 
the conspiracy, met the charge with scornful de- 
nials. They said such a thing was not possible. 
But it was.^^ There were Oregon pioneers who 
protested. Before the law passed, when the in- 
tended action of Thurston became known, in rela- 
tion to said section eleven, on September 19, 1850, 
a public meeting was held in Oregon City. Reso- 
lutions were passed declaring that the selection of 
the Oregon City claim for an university reservation 
was uncalled for by any considerable portion of 
the citizens of the Territory, and was invidious 
and unjust to Dr. McLoughlin; and that he "mer- 
its the gratitude of multitudes of persons in Ore- 
gon for the timely and long-continued assistance 
rendered by him in the settlement of this Terri- 
tory." At the same time a memorial to Congress 
was signed by fifty-six persons, which set forth 
that Dr. McLoughlin had taken up the Oregon 

" White's Ten Years in Oregon, pp. 220, 221. 
** Oregon Spectator, August 22 and 29, 1850. 



138 Dr. John McLoughiin 

City claim like other claims in the Territory, and 
it had been held by him in accordance with the 
Provisional and Territorial governments of Ore- 
gon; that the memorialists have ever regarded it 
as entitled to protection as fully as other claims, 
without an intimation to the contrary from any 
official source until that time; that under this im- 
pression, both before and especially since March 
4, 1849, large portions of it in blocks and lots had 
been purchased in good faith by many citizens of 
Oregon, who had erected valuable buildings there- 
on, in many instances, in the expectation of having 
a complete and sufficient title when Congress 
should grant a title to Dr. McLoughiin, as was 
confidently expected; that since March 4, 1849, 
he had donated for county, educational, charitable, 
and religious purposes more than two hundred 
lots. They, therefore, remonstrated against the 
passage of the bill in its present form, believing 
that it would work a "severe, inequitable, unneces- 
sary, and irremediable injustice." ^^ There were 
no telegraph lines in Oregon or California in those 
days. And the bill was a law eight days there- 
after. 

I am happy to say that among those who took 
part in these proceedings and signed this memorial 
were my father, James D. Holman, a pioneer of 
1846, and my uncle, Woodford C. Flolman, a 
pioneer of 1845. October 26, 1850, a public meet- 
ing was held at Salem, the stronghold of the Mis- 
sion Party. At this meeting a committee on reso- 
lutions was appointed. The resolutions reported 

*' Oregon Spectator, September 26, 1850- 



Dr. John McLoughlin 139 

by the committee were adopted. They "highly 
approved all the actions of Samuel R. Thurston 
in Congress," and said "that facts well known in 
Oregon will sustain him in all he has said about 
Dr. McLoughlin and the H. B. Company." An- 
other of these resolutions heartily approved the 
course taken by Thurston, in Congress upon the 
Donation Land Bill "especially that part which re- 
lates to the Oregon City claim," and "that if that 
claim should be secured to Dr. McLoughlin it 
would, in effect, be donating land to the H. B. 
Company." Another of these resolutions was, 
"That in the opinion of this meeting, the children 
of Oregon have a better right to the balance of that 
claim [Oregon City claim] than Dr. McLough- 
lin." Another of these resolutions was, "That the 
H. B. Company, with Dr. McLoughlin as their 
fugleman, have used every means that could be 
invented by avarice, duplicity, cunning, and decep- 
tion to retard American settlement, and cripple the 
growth of American interests in Oregon." ^^ 

There are certain qualities in some men which 
move them never to forgive a favor bestowed on 
them; to ruin those they have wronged or cheated; 
to endeavor to cover with obloquy those they have 
lied about; and to seek to hurt any one of better 
quality than they are. As a native son of Oregon 
I am ashamed of some of its pioneers and their 
actions. But in such a movement as the early set- 
tling of Oregon, there were, of necessity, some men 
of coarse fiber, and of doubtful integrity and 
honor. But such men were rare exceptions. To 

^^ Oregon Spectator, November 7, 1850. 



HO Dr. John McLoughlin 

the honor of the overwhelming majority of the 
Oregon pioneers, be it said that they took no part 
in these actions against Dr. McLoughlin, nor did 
they endorse or sympathize with Thurston's ac- 
tions and those of his co-conspirators against Dr. 
McLoughlin. 

It must be borne in mind that many thousands of 
people, men, women, and children, came to Ore- 
gon in the immigrations after 1846. There were 
probably in the immigrations of 1847 to 1850, in- 
clusive, an aggregate of more than ten thousand 
people, the number of men being in the ratio of 
about one to four. The immigration of 1847 was 
composed of over four thousand persons. These 
later immigrants did not experience the difficulties 
which beset the earlier immigrants along the Co- 
lumbia River and from there to the Willamette 
Valley. They did not need the assistance of Dr. 
McLoughlin which the immigrants of 1843, 1844, 
and 1845 *^id- They found Oregon City a small 
but thriving settlement. Some of them were easily 
led to believe that Dr. McLoughlin was not en- 
titled to his land claim, which they thought was 
a valuable one, especially as he was technically a 
British subject. But most of them were friendly 
to him for his kindness to them, and for what he 
had done for the earlier immigrants. They ap- 
preciated that he was justly entitled to his land 
claim. The love of justice and fair play were pre- 
dominant traits of most Oregon pioneers. 

The Oregon Donation Land Law. 
The Donation Land Law passed and was ap- 



Dr. John McLoughlin 141 

proved by the President September 27, 1850. Sec- 
tion 4 "granted to every white settler or occupant 
of the public lands, American half-breed Indians 
included, above the age of eighteen years, being a 
citizen of the United States, or having made a 
declaration, according to law, of his intention to 
become a citizen, or who shall make such declara- 
tion on or before the first day of December, eight- 
een hundred and fifty-one, now residing in such 
territory, or who shall become a resident thereof 
on or before the first day of December, 1850, and 
who shall have resided upon and cultivated the 
same for four consecutive years, and shall other- 
wise conform to the provisions of this act," 320 
acres of land, if a single man, or if a married man, 
640 acres, 320 acres being for his wife. The 
last sentence of Section 4 is as follows : "Provided 
further, however, that this section shall not be so 
construed as to allow those claiming rights under 
the treaty with Great Britain, relative to the Ore- 
gon territory, to claim both under this grant and 
the treaty, but merely to secure them the election 
and confine them to a single grant of land." 

Section eleven of said Donation Law is as fol- 
lows: "Sec. II. And be it further enacted. That 
what is known as the 'Oregon City Claim,' except- 
ing the Abernethy Island, which is hereby con- 
firmed to the legal assigns of the Willamette Mill- 
ing and Trading Companies, shall be set apart and 
be at the disposal, of the Legislative Assembly, the 
proceeds thereof to be applied, by said Legislative 
Assembly, to the establishment and endowment of 
a university, to be located at such place in the ter- 



142 Dr. John McLoughlin 

ritory as the Legislative Assembly may designate ; 
Provided, however, That all lots and parts of lots 
in said claim, sold or granted by Doctor John 
McLoughlin, previous to the fourth of March, 
eighteen hundred and forty-nine, shall be con- 
firmed to the purchaser or donee, or their assigns, 
to be certified to the commissioner of the general 
land office by the surveyor-general, and patents to 
issue on said certificates, as in other cases: Provid- 
ed, further. That nothing in this act contained 
shall be so construed and executed as in any way 
to destroy or afifect any rights to land in said ter- 
ritory, holden or claimed under the provisions of 
the treaty or treaties existing between this coun- 
try and Great Britain." By the "Oregon City 
claim" is meant Dr. McLoughlin's land claim. 
This section eleven is unjust in its treatment of 
Dr. McLoughlin. Not that Congress was to 
blame. It did not know the facts. Did not the 
first Delegate from Oregon advocate it? Did not 
the first Territorial Chief Justice of Oregon then 
in Washington, advise it? And did not the 
Delegate and the Chief Justice say that Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin was so dangerous and unprincipled 
a man as not be entitled to his land claim? And 
that he refused to become an American citizen? 
There was not even a recognition of Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin's right to the improvements which he 
had placed on his land claim. And there, in 
all its infamy, said section eleven stands on the 
statute books today. If the assigns of the Mill- 
ing Company were entitled to Abernethy Is- 
land, why should not the courts have settled the 



Dr. John McLoughlin 143 

matter according to law and justice, as other con- 
tested land claims were settled? 

The Conspiracy Effective. 

The motives and scheme of the conspirators to 
deprive Dr. McLoughlin of his land claim were 
very simple but effective. They desired to obtain 
Abernethy Island, which was a part of Dr. 
McLoughlin's land claim, for the assigns of the 
Oregon Milling Company. They desired to de- 
prive Dr. McLoughlin of the rest of his land claim 
to wreak their malice against him, and at the same 
time, by statute passed by Congress, to have their 
actions against him apparently justified. Theirs 
was an uneasy conscience. It was, therefore, neces- 
sary to make it appear to Congress that Dr. 
McLoughlin was not only not entitled to his land 
claim nor any part of it, but that he should not 
have it under any circumstances; that Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin was a man dangerous to Oregon, its peo- 
ple, and their interests, and had unfairly tried 
to prevent its settlement by citizens of the United 
States; that he refused to become an American 
citizen; and that he was not really trying to get 
the land claim for himself, but for the Hudson's 
Bay Company, although they knew his resignation 
had become effective in 1846. Having so wronged 
Dr. McLoughlin, they still did not dare to try to 
get the whole claim. To keep Dr. McLoughlin, 
or his heirs, from ever getting it, they tried to 
bribe the people of Oregon by providing that his 
land claim, less Abernethy Island, should be used 
for the establishment of an university, which would 



144 Dr. John McLoughlin 

be for the benefit of all the people of Oregon. It 
was a cunning scheme. Thurston's reward was to 
be a re-election as Delegate to Congress. He died 
before he could be re-elected. 

There was great rejoicing in Oregon, at first, on 
the passage of the Donation Land Law. Every 
settler, except Dr. McLoughlin, could now have 
his land claim, for the title to which he had waited 
so long. A great university was to be built, with- 
out cost to anyone, except Dr. McLoughlin and 
his heirs. This was long before the discussion 
about using "tainted money." But the reaction 
against Thurston soon began. The newspapers 
printed letters against Thurston's actions in vilify- 
ing Dr. McLoughlin and in taking away his land 
claim. Thurston's party papers began to mention 
or to advocate other available men^^ for Thurs- 
ton's position as delegate to Congress.^^ 

Career and Death of Thurston. 

Even had the Mission Party, at the next election, 
been strong enough to have elected Thurston, had 
he lived, his political career would probably not 
have continued long. April 9, 1851, at the age of 
thirty-five years he died at sea ofif Acapulco, Mex- 
ico, while returning to Oregon. Thurston's let- 
ter, speeches, and actions against Dr. McLoughlin 
are the one great blot on his career. Thurston was 
a man of ability, a fluent speaker, a profuse writer 

^^ Western Star (Milwaukee, Oregon) February 20, and March 13, 
1851. 

^^ Attention is called to the correspondence of S. R. Thurston, 
Nathaniel J. Wyeth, R. C. Winthrop and Dr. McLoughlin, which is 
set forth in Document O. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 145 

of letters, of untiring energy, but inclined to be 
vindictive, and was not careful about the truth of 
his statements concerning a person he opposed or 
disliked. He made quite a reputation during the 
short time he was in Congress. He was quite popu- 
lar in Oregon until his actions against Dr. 
McLoughlin became known. But for his actions 
against Dr. McLoughlin his memory would even 
now be highly regarded in Oregon. The passage 
of the Donation Land Law was largely due to 
his efforts. In spite of said section eleven that law 
gave great satisfaction to many people in Oregon. 
Up to that time no settler had more than a squat- 
ter's right. Man is naturally selfish. Notwith- 
standing the treatment of Dr. McLoughlin by this 
law, many settlers were pleased that they could 
now secure titles to their lands, and to that extent 
were grateful to Thurston. 

Thurston secured appropriations for Oregon ag- 
gregating one hundred and ninety thousand dol- 
lars. Of this one hundred thousand dollars were 
for expenses of the Cayuse Indian War. He intro- 
duced and worked for many bills favorable to Ore- 
gon and busied himself in looking after the inter- 
ests of Oregon and his constituents. He wrote a 
great number of letters, which were published in 
the Oregon Spectator, calling attention to what 
he was doing in Congress and thus kept his name 
continuously before the people, for he was a skill- 
ful politician. But his alliance with leaders of the 
Mission Party was a political error. 

This address is about Dr. McLoughlin. I have 
not attempted to give the life of Thurston, nor a 



146 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

history of the Methodist Mission. To speak only 
of Thurston's actions against Dr. McLoughlin 
might be taken to mean that Thurston did nothing 
else while in Congress. In estimating Thurston's 
actions in Congress, those that are to his credit 
must be taken into account as well as those which 
are not. His actions in regard to Dr. McLough- 
lin's land claim were an unfortunate bid for popu- 
larity, which reacted on him and his reputation. 
Thurston's untrue and unjust statements, his des- 
picable actions, and his false and malicious 
charges against Dr. McLoughlin are indefensible. 
Thurston's untimely death probably prevented 
justice being done to Dr. McLoughlin and his dev- 
isees sooner than it was. Thurston was not a 
strong man physically and it was thought that he 
had shortened his life in working for Oregon and 
his constituents. To act justly to the living Dr. 
McLoughlin, in a certain sense, might be con- 
strued as reflecting on the dead Thurston. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church. 

All my ancestors and relatives for many genera- 
tions have been Protestants. I was brought up 
under the auspices of the Old School Presbyterian 
Church, of which my parents were members from 
my early childhood until their deaths at advanced 
ages. I have never been a member of any church, 
but my feelings and sympathies have always been 
that of a Protestant. I respect all true sects and 
denominations of the great Christian Church. I 
respect the religion of the Jews, of Buddha, and of 
Confucius, for the good that is in them. I respect 



Dr. John McLoughlin 147 

every man's religious faith, as long as it is truly a 
religious faith. I uphold the right of every man 
to worship God according to his liking. I re- 
spect, I admire, the man who against opposition 
and against his material and business interests fol- 
lows the dictates of his conscience in religious and 
other matters of principle. While I may not agree 
with him, I defend his right. It is immaterial to 
me whether Dr. McLoughlin was a Protestant or 
a Roman Catholic. It is sufficient to me that he 
honestly acted according to his reason, his judg- 
ment, and what he considered was right. I con- 
demn any persecution of him for being true to his 
conscience. I have great admiration for the Meth- 
odist missionaries who were true to their prin- 
ciples, who tried to lead blameless lives and to con- 
vert the Indians, and respected the rights of others. 
It is immaterial to me whether the missionaries 
were Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregational- 
ists, or Roman Catholics, so long as they were 
really missionaries and true to their God, accord- 
ing to their lights, true to their professions, to 
themselves, and to their fellow men. I have no 
attack to make on religion, nor on the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, nor on its true missionaries, 
clerical or lay. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church has been one 
of the great civilizing agencies in the United 
States, particularly in the newer parts of the coun- 
try. In its earlier days, and until the great growth 
of the country in the past forty or fifty years, it 
reached a class of people, which no other denomi- 
nation could reach or influence, and made better 



148 Dr. John McLoughlin 

people of them. All churches and denominations 
are subject to conditions and to evolution. And the 
Methodist Episcopal Church is today one of the 
great and influential churches in the United States. 
There always have been and there always will be 
men who make use of religion for sinister purposes. 
These unworthy missionaries who were parties to 
the unjust treatment of Dr. McLoughlin are not 
entitled to escape criticism, nor to have their 
wrongful acts passed over because of their reli- 
gious pretentions. They are subject all the more 
to severe condemnation. All good Methodists 
condemn those wrongful acts of the missionaries 
as all true, honest Oregon pioneers condemn the 
acts of the pioneers who abused or cheated Dr. 
McLoughlin. But these base actions were not sus- 
tained by, nor concurred in by all the Methodist 
missionaries. Some condemned these actions. 
Others of these missionaries, appreciating what 
Dr. McLoughlin had done for them, and his hu- 
manitarianism, spoke in his praise, but did not 
break with their fellows who were persecuting 
Dr. McLoughlin. Some of the signers of the 
Shortess petition afterwards regretted, or were 
ashamed of their actions in so doing. Some timid 
persons may say that it would be better, in this ad- 
dress, merely to speak of the kind acts and high 
character of Dr. McLoughlin and not of the 
wrongful and unjust ways in which he was treated 
by some of the early immigrants, by some of the 
Methodist missionaries, by Thurston, by Bryant, 
and others. But that would not show what he suf- 
fered for the upbuilding of Oregon, nor his mar- 



Dr. John McLoughlin 149 

tyrdom on account of his humanity, of his prin- 
ciples, and of his integrity. It would not be a 
true, nor an accurate account of his life and time. 
Some persons in writing a life of Jesus would 
speak of his gentleness, his kindness, and his hu- 
manity, and say no more. They would not say 
anything against the Pharisees, nor of their con- 
demnation by Jesus, because the Pharisees were 
people of some standing in their community, and 
did some kindly acts, and for fear of offending the 
descendants of the Pharisees. Such historians 
would not say anything against Caiaphas, the high 
priest, nor his actions against Jesus, because they 
might offend those religiously inclined. They 
would not say anything against those who cried 
"Crucify him," in their religious zeal. They 
would not say anything against Pontius Pilate, for 
fear of being thought to have attacked the Judici- 
ary. They would either omit the crucifixion or 
merely say the last days of Jesus were passed some- 
what in sorrow and in pain. But such a history 
would be trivial, and of no value. It would fail 
to show what Jesus did and suffered in his en- 
deavors to help mankind. It would be a history in 
name only. 

Dr. McLoughlin' s Memorial to Congress. 

By the passage of the Donation Land Law, and 
also by reason of the letter and of the speeches of 
Thurston in Congress, Dr. McLoughlin was put 
in the humiliating position of having to issue a 
printed circular letter to get expressions of opin- 
ions of others, as to the falsity of the charges made 



150 Dr. John McLoughlin 

against him by Thurston, and to support a memor- 
ial to Congress which Dr. McLoughlin afterwards 
sent to Congress with all the evidence. But his 
memorial accomplished nothing. There was, too, 
the question that Congress had given away his land 
claim, which was then technically the property 
of Oregon, for an university, and that Congress 
could not, with dignity to itself, revoke its gift. 
And who was Dr. McLoughlin to Congress? He 
was away out in Oregon nearly 4,000 miles from 
Washington. There were great and serious mat- 
ters to be considered by Congress. The Oregon 
question was settled. What were the wrongs and 
misfortunes of one old man to Congress? 

In answer to the printed circular issued by Dr. 
McLoughlin, after the passage of the Donation 
Land Law, for the purposes of his memorial to 
Congress, he received many commendatory letters. 
I give merely excerpts from the letter of that noble 
old pioneer, Jesse Applegate, an immigrant of 
1843. ^^ wrote: "I have received your letter of 
inquiries, and take pleasure in replying to such of 
them as I personally know to be true. I came to 
this country in the fall of 1843, and, from that time 
forward, I can safely testify that your conduct has 
been the most generous and philanthropic, not only 
to immigrants from the United States, but to all 
requiring your assistance, whether natives or for- 
eigners. I can also say that you have greatly en- 
couraged and given much assistance in settling and 
developing the resources of the country, but I have 
by no means considered your motive for doing so 
political, or that your charitable acts were intended 



Dr. John McLoughlin 151 

to advance the interests of any particular nation, 
but that you acted in the one case simply from a 
sense of Christian duty and humanity, and in the 
other from a natural desire to be useful in your 
day and generation. . . . But as the office of 
Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company is in 
no way connected with politics, the discharge of its 
duties imposed no restrictions upon your private 
sentiments, and unless they led to a betrayal of 
your trust, which has never been charged against 
you, as an Irishman and a Catholic, you were free 
to feel and express your partiality for the free 
and tolerant institutions of the United States. 
That you did entertain such partiality, from my 
first acquaintance with you, need not depend upon 
my assertion, for it is a fact well known, and one 
you did not pretend to conceal." 

Jesse Applegate then says, in this letter, that he 
was present in 1845 when Dr. McLoughlin ap- 
plied to Judge Peter H. Burnett, the Chief Justice 
of the Provisional Government, to take the oath 
of allegiance to the United States and to obtain 
first naturalization papers, but Judge Burnett de- 
clined to grant the request for he believed he did 
not have any jurisdiction to do so. Jesse Applegate 
further said in his letter: "That 'you pulled down 
houses and turned women and children out of 
them,' is a charge not only false, but too absurd to 
require refutation or notice. I can myself stat^ 
from experience, which accords with that of every 
other destitute immigrant who applied to you for 
assistance, either before or since my arrival in the 
country, that your conduct was entirely the re- 



152 Dr. John McLoughlin 

verse. My own company, of more than seventy 
persons, mostly women and children, who arrived 
at Vancouver in the storms of winter, in a condi- 
tion the most destitute and miserable, were re- 
ceived by you, not as strangers, or foreigners, or 
as some would have it, enemies, but as brethren 
and fit subjects of hospitality and Christian char- 
ity, and our reception was not more kind and gen- 
erous than was extended to every immigrant who 
sought your hospitality or assistance. 
But however unjust the Oregon Land Law has 
been towards you, it may be said in excuse for the 
members of Congress who passed it, that with the 
concurring and uncontradicted evidence of the 
Delegate and Chief Justice of Oregon before them, 
you neither had nor would become an American 
citizen, they are not chargeable with injustice." ^* 

The Persecution Continued, 

The conspirators and their friends did not cease 
their persecution of Dr. McLoughlin. They were 
determined he should not have his land claim. To 
protect the reputation of Thurston and the other 
conspirators, it was necessary to defeat all actions 
of the Oregon Legislative Assembly in favor of 
Dr. McLoughlin. If that body made any peti- 
tions to Congress or passed any resolutions in 
favor of Dr. McLoughlin, it would show that he 
was entitled to his land claim, the injustice of 
section eleven of the Donation Land Law, and that 
Thurston was guilty of malicious untruths in his 
letter to, and his speeches before Congress relating 

" See Document P. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 153 

to Dr. McLoughlin and his land claim. Oregon 
could not, with propriety, pretend to act justly to 
Dr. McLoughlin and still retain his land claim. 
I regret to say that the House of Representatives 
of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, at its session 
in 1853-4, "ot only refused to help Dr. McLough- 
lin, but by its actions did him harm. January 6, 
1854, several petitions were presented to the House 
asking that Congress be memorialized in favor of 
Dr. McLoughlin's right to his land claim, "ex-' 
cepting the Abernethy Island," but the petitions 
were immediately laid on the table. January 28, 
1854, Orlando Humason presented to the House 
the following resolution: "Whereas, the acts of 
John McLoughlin in regard to his treatment of 
the early settlers of Oregon, have, as we believe, 
been misrepresented, therefore - RESOLVED, that 
the generous conduct of Dr. John McLoughlin in 
assisting the early settlers of Oregon, merits our 
warmest commendations, and that as evidence of 
the high estimation in which his services are held 
by his fellow citizens, the thanks of this Assembly 
be tendered to the said Dr. John McLoughlin." ^^ 
But by the vote of sixteen to seven, three being 
absent, the resolution was indefinitely postponed^ 
which was the legislative way of defeating it. All 
honor to the seven who voted in favor of the reso- 
lution. Their names are F. C. Cason, L. F. Cartee, 
Orlando Humason, B. B. Jackson, J. W. Moffitt, 
Chauncey Nye, and L. S. Thompson. 



House Journal, 1853-54, p. 165. 



154 Dr. John McLoughliti 

The End of Dr. McLoughlin's Life. 

All these troubles and tribulations naturally told 
on Dr. McLoughlin. He was a man of fortitude, 
who brooded, almost silently, over his sorrows, 
with an occasional outburst when his sufferings 
were too intense. He had made expensive improve- 
ments on his land claim, including a flour-mill and 
a saw-mill, and other buildings. No provisions 
w^ere ever made by Congress to pay for these im- 
provements. Even his dwelling house at Oregon 
City, which for several years had been the home 
of himself and his family, was taken from him, 
with his other improvements, by section eleven of 
the Oregon Donation Land Law. It is true he re- 
mained in possession of these improvements, in- 
cluding his home, but by sufferance only. Because 
the Territory of Oregon did not sell the land he 
was not actually ousted. There was no way to 
acquire land in Oregon City, taken from Dr. 
McLoughlin by said section eleven, except by a 
law passed by the Oregon Legislature. And the 
legislature did nothing. 

He could not move nor sell his improvements. 
They belonged to the land on which they were 
erected. Even if he could have sold them they 
would have brought but little as they would have 
to be moved. His mills were erected to be run 
by water power and they were conveniently situ- 
ated on the bank of the river near the falls, for 
the economical handling of wheat and logs and 
the shipping of products of these mills. They 
could not, at that time, be successful financially if 
they were moved and operated by steam. He 



Dr. John McLoughlin 155 

hoped that Congress or the Legislature would re- 
store his land claim to him. But he hoped and 
waited in vain. The lion was entangled in a net. 
He struggled but he could not escape. And so 
Dr. McLoughlin became straitened financially. 
Had Dr. McLoughlin been allowed to have his 
land, he could then have built up a large town at 
Oregon City. As it was, investors went to places 
where titles to land could be obtained and there 
built up enterprises. With the moneys from the 
sale of land Dr. McLoughlin could have paid the 
Hudson's Bay Company all the moneys due by 
settlers, who had failed or refused to pay. The 
payment of this heavy indebtedness Dr. McLough- 
lin had assumed. It was a matter of honor with 
him. He owed nothing else to the Hudson's Bay 
Company. The settlers who would not pay their 
indebtedness caused Dr. McLoughlin to feel keen- 
ly their ingratitude. If they had paid him, he 
would have paid the Company in full. 

And there, too, was the question of providing 
after his death for his loving and faithful wife, to 
whom he was devoted, and his children. He had 
always been generous to his family. He had pro- 
vided for his mother until her death at the age of 
eighty-three years. He had educated four nieces. 
He had helped other of his relatives. Is it to be 
wondered at that he sometimes felt bitter? 

The McLoughlin Document was undoubtedly 
written at this period. It is a brief of his defense. 
He probably wrote it so that his descendants would 
understand. At the end of this Document, Dr. 
McLoughlin said: "By British demagogues I have 



156 Dr. John McLoughlin 

been represented as a traitor. For what? Because 
I acted as a Christian; saved American citizens, 
men, women and children from the Indian toma- 
hawk and enabled them to make farms to support 
their families.^^ American demagogues have 
been base enough to assert that I had caused Amer- 
ican citizens to be massacred by hundreds by the 
savages. I, who saved all I could. I have been 
represented by the Delegate from Oregon, the 
late S. R. Thurston, as doing all I could to prevent 
the settling [of Oregon], while it was well known 
to every American settler who is acquainted with 
the history of the Territory if this is not a down- 
right falsehood, and most certainly will say, that 
he most firmly believes that I did all I could to 
promote its settlement, and that I could not have 
done more for the settlers if they had been my 
brothers and sisters, and, after being the first per- 
son to take a claim in the country and assisting the 
immigrants as I have, my claim is reserved, after 
having expended all the means I had to improve 
it, while every other settler in the country gets his. 
But as I felt convinced that any disturbance be- 
tween us here might lead to a war between Great 
Britain and the States, I felt it my bounden duty 
as a Christian, to act as I did, and which I think 
averted the evil, and which was so displeasing to 
some English demagogues that they represented 
me to the British government as a person so partial 
to American interests as selling the Hudson's Bay 
Company goods, in my charge, cheaper to Amer- 



See Document Q. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 157 

ican than I did to British subjects. . . . Yet, 
after acting as I have, spending my means and do- 
ing my utmost to settle the country, my claim is re- 
served, while every other settler in the country 
gets his; and hov^ much this has injured me, is 
daily injuring me, it is needless to say, and cer- 
tainly it is a treatment I do not deserve and which 
I did not expect. To be brief, I founded this set- 
tlement and prevented a war between the United 
States and Great Britain, and for doing this peace- 
ably and quietly, I was treated by the British in 
such a manner that from self respect I resigned my 
situation in the Hudson's Bay Company's service, 
by which I sacrificed $12,000 per annum, and the 
'Oregon Land Bill' shows the treatment I received 
from the Americans." 

And so, worried and troubled without surcease. 
Dr. McLoughlin maintained his grand, but kindly, 
attitude to the last. But these matters affected his 
health. For several years before his death he was 
an invalid, but his pride assisted him to persevere 
and to transact such business as he could, although 
his heart was breaking. His flesh became greatly 
reduced, his eyes deeply sunken. He grew so ema- 
ciated that his great frame stood out, making him 
look gaunt and grim. For a few weeks, only, be- 
fore his death he was confined to his bed. 

Thus encompassed and overcome, and crucified 
by robbery, mendacity, and ingratitude. Dr. John 
McLoughlin died at Oregon City, September 3, 
1857, a broken-hearted man. He was buried in 
the churchyard of the Roman Catholic Church in 
Oregon City, where his body now lies. The stone 



158 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

which marks his grave bears the simple inscrip- 
tion: 

"Dr. John McLoughlin 

DIED 

Sept. 3, 1857. 

Aged 

73 Years. 

The pioneer and Friend of Oregon. 

Also the founder of this City," 

Dr. John McLoughlin is not the only great char- 
acter in history, whose memory shall live for all 
time, but whose death was under sad circumstances 
and whose heart, at the time of his death, was then 
filled with thoughts of the wrong-doings and the 
ingratitude of others. 

The frontispiece to this address is made from a 
photograph of a daguerreotype of Dr. McLough- 
lin taken in 1856, when his sorrows and tribula- 
tions.were beginning to tell on him. This daguer- 
reotype belongs to Mrs. Josiah Myrick, of Port- 
land, Oregon, who is a granddaughter of Dr. 
McLoughlin. She kindly loaned this daguerreo- 
type to have the photograph made of it. 

Governor L. F. Grover was elected Governor of 
Oregon for two consecutive terms. He resigned 
during his last term to be an United States Senator, 
to which latter office he was elected. He is now 
living in Portland, at an advanced age. On the 
fourteenth of September, 1905, he gave me a writ- 
ten statement of an incident which occurred in the 
last sickness of Dr. McLoughlin. In this state- 
ment Governor Grover said that he was riding on 
horseback through Oregon City on his way from 



Dr. John McLoughlin 159 

Salem to Portland, and passed down the street 
directly in front of Dr. McLoughlin's home, a 
few days before his death. As Governor Grover 
was giving directions for the care of his horse, a 
messenger came to him from Dr. McLoughlin 
requesting Governor Grover to call at Dr. 
McLoughlin's house. Governor Grover says : "I 
found him extremely ill. . . . He said that 
he was dying by inches. He said: 'I shall live but 
a little while longer and this is the reason I sent 
for you. I am an old man and just dying, and you 
are a young man and will live many years in this 
countr3^ and will have something to do with affairs 
here. As for me, I might better have been shot'- 
and he brought it out harshly- I might better have 
been shot forty years ago.' After a silence, for I 
did not say anything, he concluded: 'than to have 
lived here and tried to build up a family and an 
estate in this government. I became a citizen of 
the United States in good faith. I planted all I 
had here and the government has confiscated my 
property. Now what I want to ask of you is that 
you will give your influence after I am dead to 
have this property go to my children. I have 
earned it as other settlers have earned theirs, and 
it ought to be mine and my heirs.' I told him I 
would favor his request, and did." 

Justice to Dr. McLoughlin's Memory. 

Although the Donation Land Law went into ef- 
fect September 27, 1850, and its section eleven pro- 
vided that the "Oregon City Claim" should be at 
the disposal of the Territory for the establishment 



i6o Dr. John McLoughlin 

and endowment of an university, nothing was done 
with this land claim until 1862, three years after 
Oregon became a state. In October, 1862, the 
Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon 
passed an act, which was approved by the Govern- 
or October 17, 1862, conveying and confirming 
to the legatees under the will of Dr. McLoughlin, 
who were his son, David, his daughter, Eloisa, and 
her husband, Daniel Harvey, the McLoughlin or 
Oregon City land claim, excepting Abernethy Is- 
land, upon the condition that said legatees pay to 
the University Fund of Oregon, the nominal sum 
of one thousand dollars. This was forthwith paid 
by Daniel Harvey and wife in gold coin although 
they might have paid it in greenbacks, which were 
then at a large discount. As the eleventh section 
of the Donation Land Law provided that the pro- 
ceeds of the sale of said Oregon City Claim should 
be applied to the establishment and endowment of 
an university, there had to be some consideration 
paid on its disposal by the State. All this oc- 
curred twelve years after the passage of the Dona- 
tion Land Law and five years after the death of 
Dr. McLoughlin. During all those twelve years 
the title of this land claim was in the Territory, or 
State of Oregon. It stopped the growth of Oregon 
City. It impoverished Dr. McLoughlin. 

As appears by the Senate and House Journals 
of the Legislative Session of 1862 said act passed 
the Senate, with two negative votes only, and there 
were none in the House after the act was amended 
in the Senate in the form in which the act became 
a law. The injustice of the Donation Land Law 



Dr. John McLoughlin i6i 

to Dr. McLoughlin had appealed to the people of 
Oregon in the twelve years which had elapsed 
since the passage of the latter law. What Dr. 
McLoughlin had done for Oregon and its pioneers 
could not be forgotten. Justice to him and his 
memory was, at last, triumphant. The enactment 
and approval of this law of October 17, 1862, was 
an official vindication of Dr. McLoughlin, by 
the Legislative and Executive Departments of the 
State of Oregon, of all the false statements about, 
and all charges against him made by Thurston 
and others, and of all their misrepresentations of 
Dr. McLoughlin and of his acts. It was a formal 
official acknowledgment of the injustice of the 
Oregon Donation Land Law to Dr. McLoughlin. 
It was an official recognition of his sterling quali- 
ties; of his humanity; of his great services in assist- 
ing the early immigrants; of what he had done for 
Oregon; and of what was due to him and to his 
memory as the Father of Oregon. It cleared his 
character and reputation from every imputation of 
unfairness, injustice, and chicanery. It was, in ef- 
fect, an official condemnation of the acts of the 
conspirators against him. 

In 1846 the fame of Dr. John McLoughlin as a 
great and good man had extended to Rome. That 
year Gregory XVI, then the Pope, made Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin a Knight of St. Gregory the Great, 
of civil grade. The original patent, written in 
Latin, is now in the possession of a descendant of 
Dr. McLoughlin. A copy in English is in the pos- 
session of the Oregon Historical Society. The 
Pope sent to Dr. McLoughlin the Insignia of the 



1 62 Dr. John McLoughlin 

Order, which was delivered to him by Archbishop 
Francis N. Blanchet on his return from Europe in 
August, 1847. It was a high and deserved honor. 
But without it Dr. John McLoughlin was one of 
Nature's knights in all qualities which the highest 
and best of knights should have. He was such a 
knight, sans peur, sans reproche. 

Opinions by Dr. McLoughlin's Contemporaries. 

In 1887 the people of Portland determined to 
raise six hundred dollars for a three-quarter life- 
size portrait of Dr. McLoughlin, to be painted by 
William Coggswell, the artist, to be owned by the 
Oregon Pioneer Association. The money was 
raised by popular subscription. The total amount 
subscribed was nearly double the sum required. 
This portrait was formally presented to the Associ- 
ation at its annual meeting, June 15, 1887. Judge 
M. P. Deady made the presentation address. He 
was a judge for forty years continuously in Ore- 
gon. A part of the time, six years, he was on the 
Oregon Territorial Supreme Bench, and for thirty- 
four years he was United States District Judge for 
Oregon, after Oregon became a State. In his pre- 
sentation address Judge Deady, speaking of Dr. 
McLoughlin,^® said: "The man, whose portrait 
now hangs before you, came to this country from 
the Atlantic commissioned as Chief Factor and 
Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company west of 
the Rocky mountains. He was clothed with abso- 
lute power. ... He was the ruler of this 
country, and had the peace and security of the peo- 

^* Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1887, p. 16. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 163 

pie in his hands. He was distinguished for his 
justice and fair dealing with the Indians. When 
the immigration came he was distinguished for 
kindness and hospitality. He always literally 
obeyed the scriptural injunction to feed the 
hungry, visit the sick and clothe the naked. The 
maintenance of law, order and justice rested on his 
shoulders and he was equal to the occasion. 

"The people of Portland have thought to honor 
his memory by having his portrait painted and giv- 
ing it to the Pioneer Association, to be taken to the 
fair city of Salem and hung in the State Capitol, 
where you may look at it and show it to your chil- 
dren, and they to their children, and say: 'This is 
the old doctor, the good doctor. Dr. John 
McLoughlin.' Thirty years ago he laid down his 
life at the Wallamet Falls, where he had builded 
and lived since 1845, somewhat in obscurity, some- 
what in sorrow, somewhat in sadness and disap- 
pointment. But the political strife and religious 
bigotry which cast a cloud over his latter days 
have passed away, and his memory and figure have 
arisen from the mist and smoke of controversy, and 
he stands out today in bold relief, as the first man 
in the history of this country -the Pioneer of 
Pioneers." 

The Oregon Pioneer Association deemed it best 
to present this portrait to the State of Oregon. This 
was done February 6, 1889, at a joint session of the 
Senate and House of the Oregon Legislative As- 
sembly held for the purpose. This portrait now 
hangs in the Senate chamber of the State Capitol 
at Salem in the place of honor, immediately back 



164 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

of the chair of the President of the Senate. John 
Minto, an honored pioneer of 1844, was selected 
to make the presentation address. In this address 
Mr. Minto said : ^^ "In this sad summary of such a 
life as Dr. McLoughlin's, there is a statement that 
merits our attention, which, if ever proven true - 
and no man that ever knew Dr. McLoughlin will 
doubt that he believed it true, namely, that he pre- 
vented war between Great Britain and the United 
States - will show that two of the greatest nations 
on this earth owe him a debt of gratitude, and that 
Oregon in particular is doubly bound to him as a 
public benefactor. . . . It is now twenty-six 
years since the Legislative Assembly of the State 
of Oregon, so far as restoration of property to Dr. 
McLoughlin's family could undo the wrong of 
Oregon's land bill, gave gladness to the heart of 
every Oregon pioneer worthy of the name. All of 
them yet living now know that (good man as they 
believed him) he was better than they knew. They 
see him now, after the strife and jealousies of race, 
national, business, and sectarian interests are al- 
layed, standing in the centre of all these causes of 
contention - a position in which to please all par- 
ties was simply impossible, to maintain which 
'only a good man could bear with patience' - and 
they have adopted this means of conveying their 
appreciation of this great forbearance and patient 
endurance, combined with his generous conduct. 
Looking, then, at this line of action in the light of 
the merest glimpses of history known to be true 
by witnesses yet living, can any honest man wonder 

^" Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1888, p. 134. 



Dr. John McLoughlin 165 

that the pioneers of Oregon, who have eaten the 
salt of this man's hospitality - who have been eye 
witnesses to his brave care for humanity and par- 
ticipators of his generous aid - are unwilling to go 
to their graves in silence, which would imply base 
ingratitude - a silence which would be eloquent 
with falsehood?" 

In accepting this portrait, on behalf of the State 
of Oregon, Gov. Sylvester Pennoyer, also an Ore- 
gon pioneer, who served two consecutive terms as 
Governor of the State of Oregon, said:'^ "This 
gift is alike creditable to the venerable men of your 
Association in its bestowment and to the State of 
Oregon in its acceptance. It does honor to the 
pioneers of Oregon, because it shows their full 
appreciation of the high qualities of a true and 
noble manhood; and the placing of this painting 
in the honorable position it now occupies in the 
senate-hall of the state capitol evinces a like ap- 
preciation on the part of the representatives and 
the people of this great State. Dr. McLoughlin 
was, indeed, a most extraordinary man. Entrusted 
with a most responsible position under the British 
flag at a time when there was a bitter contest for 
governmental supremacy in Oregon, it was the un- 
doubted and honorable wish and prompting of his 
heart that the flag of his country might continue 
to wave over Oregon soil, and yet in instances re- 
peated without number, he extended the hand of 
charity and unstinted aid to the poor immigrants 
of the contesting people, whose advent here threat- 



'* Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1888, pp. 135, 
136. 



1 66 Dr. John McLoughlin 

ened the supremacy of his government over the 
contested territory. While he was loyal to his 
country he was, as became his lofty character, 
more loyal to his conscience; and while never for- 
getting his full allegiance as a Briton, he never 
forgot his higher duty as a man. . . . Then 
let this picture of the grand old man, whose num- 
erous deeds of charity are inseparably interwoven 
in the early history of our State, ever enjoy the 
place of honor it now holds; and when our chil- 
dren and our children's children shall visit these 
venerated halls, let them pause before the portrait 
of this venerable man and do homage to his mem- 
ory, who, with his patriotic devotion to his coun- 
try and his devout service to his God, crowned the 
full completeness of his high character with an 
unmeasured love for his fellow men." 

I have already spoken of the Rev. H. K. Hines, 
D.D., a Methodist minister who came to Oregon 
in 1853, and of his memorable address delivered at 
Pendleton, December 10, 1897. I" this address 
Dr. Hines said that "Dr. McLoughlin should 
escape the traduction of sectarian rancor and big- 
otry, . . was perhaps an impossibility. He 
certainly did not. Of course all could see at the 
outset, and none more clearly than the missionaries 
themselves, that the attitude he assumed towards 
the American missions and missionaries, must 
needs decide the success of their work, and 
even the very inauguration of it. . . . Dr. 
McLoughlin was a Christian, professedly, and it 
does not lie in me to say that he was not really 
and truly. At this time, and long before, and for 



Dr. John McLoughlin 167 

years afterwards, he was a member of the Church 
of England. That subsequently, in 1841, I think, 
he became a devout member of the Roman Catho- 
lic church, does not, to my mind, take from or 
add to the estimate I make of him as a devout be- 
liever in that form of religion called Christian- 
ity." And speaking of Dr. McLoughlin's treat- 
ment of the missionaries of all denominations, Dr. 
Hines said: "All these missionaries came while 
Dr. McLoughlin was not connected with any of 
the churches they represented. His treatment of 
them was on a broader and higher plane than that 
of the sectary. It was that of the humanitarian 
and the Christian, and it continued thus even after 
he must have seen that, at least, the missions of Mr. 
Lee and Dr. Whitman were, in the order of events, 
gathering about themselves the elements of an 
American civilization that indicated what the 
future of Oregon would be - what it has long since 
become." And referring to the early immigrants 
and Dr. McLoughlin's treatment of them. Dr. 
Hines said: "What would Dr. McLoughlin do? 
Would he shut the gates of his fortress? Would 
he lock the doors of his granaries? Would he deny 
asylum to the weary, footsore, famishing immi- 
grants? What would he do? We can answer by 
rehearsing what he did. He forgot, in large meas- 
ure, that those who lay at his door, sick, weary, 
poor, and almost ready to die, were not his friends. 
He fed them and pointed them out the ways in 
which they could take living root in the soil of that 
very Oregon which was the covet of England, and 
had so long been the possession of his own Com- 



1 68 Dr. John McLoughlin 

pany, albeit they who came were American citi- 
zens, and each brought an American flag in his 
heart if not in his hand. 

"To me it seems evident that Dr. McLoughlin 
clearly saw the inevitable outcome of the struggle 
between dilatory and procrastinating diplomacy 
and the steady tramp of the growing army of ox 
teams that slowly swung down the slopes of the 
mountains, and, in his humanity, which was wider 
than his national prejudices, and stronger to con- 
trol him than his love of gain, gave the final cast 
of his own act to humanity and peace, rather than 
to gain and war. I cannot here trace the indi- 
vidual acts that demonstrate this general conclu- 
sion, as my aim has been rather to indicate the re- 
sults and show the conclusions of history than to 
relate its incidents and chronicle its dates. 

"A few years pass on. The great Company, erst 
and long the rulers of Oregon, disown the acts 
and reprove the conduct of this man of men. Ris- 
ing to an even higher altitude of resplendent man- 
hood, with a magnificent scorn he casts down his 
lofty office, with its salary of $12,000 a year, at the 
feet of these knights of the counting-house and 
ledger, cuts all the bonds that bind him to their 
service, comes back from the palaces of London to 
the green woods and soft plains of Oregon, takes 
his place as an American citizen under the stars 
and stripes, and thus wins the place of imperish- 
able honor and fame as the true 'Father of Ore- 
gon.' There his ablest contemporaries place him. 
There the great State within whose bounds he died 
and whose foundations he laid, by the voice of her 



Dr. John McLoughlin i6g 

legislature and her chief executive has crowned 
him. There history, whose verdict I record to- 
night, and with which my own heart agrees, en- 
shrines him as the greatest of our really great 
pioneer era." 

I have given these opinions because they are 
those of men who personally knew Dr. McLough- 
lin. And years after his death, after careful con- 
sideration and reflection, they have properly esti- 
mated him and, thus remembering, have spoken 
truly and justly.^® 

Eulogy upon Dr. McLoughlin. 

Like many others of the world's great men. Dr. 
John McLoughlin had many characteristics, ap- 
parently conflicting, but making in the aggregate a 
wonderful and harmonious whole. He was the 
autocrat of the early Oregon Country, yet all his 
feelings and political sympathies were for a repub- 
lican form of government, and for rule by the 
people, and for personal liberty; he was a trader, 
with the training of a trader and of a business man, 
yet he gave credit, without security, to the early 
pioneers, because he was a humanitarian; he was 
quick tempered and impulsive, yet he was courte- 
ous and kind, for he was a gentleman; he was stern 
and severe and a strict disciplinarian, yet he had 
a sympathy like that of a woman, and a heart as 
tender and susceptible as that of a little child. 

Whatever Dr. John McLoughlin did to or for 
the Oregon settlers, missionaries and immigrants, 

'* For further opinions of contemporaries of Dr. McLoughlin, sec 
Document S. 



lyo Dr. John McLoughlin 

he did to every citizen of Oregon, man, woman, 
and child, for all time, then, now, and to come. 
In honoring him, we honor ourselves. To fail to 
honor him and his memory, we would dishonor 
ourselves. To every true, honest Oregon pioneer, 
and to the descendants of every Oregon pioneer, 
has come the pleasing and loving duty of letting 
the whole world know of Dr. McLoughlin's ac- 
tions and character, so that memory of him and his 
humanity shall never perish. The time will come - 
and it should come soon - when a magnificent and 
stately monument will be erected in Oregon in 
honor of Dr. John McLoughlin. But it must be 
a monument of such size and beauty as, in that 
manner, to show the appreciation of the people 
of Oregon for him, and of the good and noble 
deeds of this grand old man. 

His name should be enrolled in the Temple of 
Fame of distinguished Americans. A county in 
each of the states of Oregon and Washington 
should be named for him. For prior to March 2, 
1853, what is now the State of Washington, was 
a part of the Territory of Oregon, and Fort Van- 
couver, where his noblest deeds were performed, 
is in the State of Washington. That State would 
do itself great honor if it should change the name 
of Thurston County to that of McLoughlin. I 
am glad that the last Legislative Assembly of Ore- 
gon restored the name of Mt. McLoughlin to that 
sublime, snow-covered mountain in Southern Ore- 
gon, sometimes called Mt. Pitt, but, prior to 1838, 
named for Dr. John McLoughlin by the early resi- 
dents of Oregon, and for years called and shown 



Dr. John McLoughlin 171 

on the maps as Mt. McLoughlin. It will forever 
be known by his name. It would have been 
appropriate if the Legislative Assembly of Ore- 
gon had changed the name of Mount Hood to that 
of Mount McLoughlin, for, in the days when Dr. 
John McLoughlin was in charge at Fort Vancou- 
ver, it was the custom of the Indians, in what is 
now called Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washing- 
ton, to point to Mt. Hood as showing near where 
was his residence. 

Dr. McLoughlin died more than forty-nine 
years ago. Under the canons of the Roman Catho- 
lic Church no one can be canonized until he or 
she has been dead at least fifty years. If I may do 
so with propriety, I suggest that, when the fifty 
years have passed, those in proper authority in that 
Church cause Dr. John McLoughlin to be canon- 
ized, if it is possible to do so. But the people of 
Oregon, as a people, are not bound by this canon. 
Already the memory of this grand old man is 
enshrined in their hearts. To them he is now the 
patron saint of Oregon, without regard to canon or 
rules, religion or sect. 

Of all the names and titles given to, or bestowed 
upon Dr. John McLoughlin, the one I like best is 
"Father of Oregon;" for he was, and is truly, the 
Father of Oregon. And it enables every old, true 
Oregon pioneer, and every son and daughter of 
every Oregon pioneer, and his and her descend- 
ants, to the remotest generations, to speak of Dr. 
John McLoughlin with affection and love, with 
respect and veneration as *'Our Father." In the 
past the fervent prayers of these grateful pioneers 



ly^ Dr. John McLoughlin 

were made in his praise and that his tribulations 
might end and persecutions of him might cease. 
Their tears consecrated his martyrdom and his 
memory. Today the hearts of the survivors and of 
the descendants of these pioneers quicken at 
thoughts of v^^hat he v^as and w^hat he did; and 
their eyes moisten in recalling what he suffered 
and w^hat he endured in the making of Oregon. 

Of all the men whose lives and deeds are essen- 
tial parts of the history of the Oregon Country, Dr. 
John McLoughlin stands supremely first -there is 
no second. In contemplating him all others sink 
into comparative insignificance. You may search 
the whole world, and all its histories from the be- 
ginning of civilization to today, and you will find 
no nobler, no grander man than Dr. John Mc- 
Loughlin. His life and character illustrate the 
kinship of man to God. He was God-like in his 
great fatherhood, in his great strength, in his great 
power, and in the exercise of his strength and of 
his power; he was Christ-like in his gentleness, in 
his tenderness, in his loving-kindness, and in his 
humanity. 



ILLUSTRATIVE DOCUMENTS 

REFERRED TO IN 

THE TEXT 



X 



DOCUMENT A 

Article J of the Convention between the United 
States of America and Great Britain, signed at 
London, October 20, 1818. 
"It is agreed that any country that may be 
claimed by either party on the north-west coast 
of America, westward of the Stony Mountains, 
shall, together with its harbors, bays, and creeks, 
and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be 
free and open for the term of ten years from the 
date of the signature of the present convention, to 
the vessels, citizens, and subjects, of the two 
powers; it being well understood that this agree- 
ment is not to be construed to the prejudice of any 
claim which either of the two high contracting 
parties may have to any part of the said country, 
nor shall it be taken to afJect the claims of any 
other power or state to any part of the said coun- 
try; the only object of the high contracting par- 
ties, in that respect, being to prevent disputes and 
differences among themselves." 

DOCUMENT B 

Convention between the United States of America 
and Great Britain, signed at London, August 
6, t82J. 
"Article i. All the provisions of the third ar- 



176 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

tide of the convention concluded between the 
United States of America and his majesty the king 
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire- 
land, on the 20th of October, 18 18, shall be, and 
they are hereby, further indefinitely extended and 
continued in force, in the same manner as if all 
the provisions of the said article were herein 
specifically recited. 

"Art. 2. It shall be competent, however, to 
either of the contracting parties, in case either 
should think fit, at any time after the 20th of 
October, 1828, on giving due notice of twelve 
months to the other contracting party, to annul 
and abrogate this convention; and it shall, in such 
case, be accordingly entirely annulled and abro- 
gated, after the expiration of the said term of 
notice. 

"Art. 3. Nothing contained in this convention, 
or in the third article of the convention of the 20th 
October, 18 18, hereby continued in force, shall 
be construed to impair, or in any manner affect, 
the claims which either of the contracting parties 
may have to any part of the country westward of 
the Stony or Rocky Mountains." 



DOCUMENT C 

Statement concerning merger of Hudson's Bay 
Company and North-West Company ; and grant 
to Hudson's Bay Company of 1821 and l8j8 
to trade in the Oregon Country. 
A great enmity arose between the Hudson's Bay 



Illustrative Documents 177 

Company and the North-West Company. In 
18 15 a regular war broke out between the two 
companies, which was, for some time after, openly 
carried on. In 1821 a compromise was effected, 
by which the North-West Company became united 
with, or rather merged, in the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany. In connection with this merger the British 
Parliament July 2, 1821, passed an act entitled, 
"An act for regulating the fur trade and estab- 
lishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction in certain 
parts of North America," containing every provi- 
sion required to give stability to the Hudson's Bay 
Company, and efficiency to its operation. Under 
this act of Parliament, the King was authorized 
to make grants or give licenses for the exclusive 
privilege of trading with the Indians in all such 
parts of North America, not being parts of the ter- 
ritories previously granted to the Hudson's Bay 
Company, or of any of His Majesty's provinces in 
North America, or of any territories belonging 
to the United States of America; "provided, how- 
ever, that no such grant or license shall be given 
for a longer period than twenty-one years ; that no 
grant or license for exclusive trade, in the part of 
America west of the Rocky mountains, which, 
by the convention of 18 18 with the United States, 
remained free and open to the subjects or citizens 
of both nations, shall be used to the prejudice or 
exclusion of citizens of the United States engaged 
in such trade; and that no British subject shall 
trade in those territories west of the Rocky moun- 
tains without such license or grant." 

December 21, 1821, the King of England 



lyS Dr. John McLoughlin 

granted a license for twenty-one years, to the Hud- 
son's Bay Company and to W. McGillivray, 
S. McGillivray, and E. Ellice (representing the 
North-West Company) "the exclusive privilege 
of trading with the Indians, in all such parts of 
North America, to the northward and westward 
of the lands and territories belonging to the United 
States of America, as shall not form part of any 
of our provinces in North America, or of any 
lands or territories belonging to the said United 
States of America, or to any European govern- 
ment, state, or power." Said grant also provided: 
"And we do hereby declare that nothing in this 
our grant contained shall be deemed or construed 
to authorize the said Governor and Company, or 
W. McGillivray, S. McGillivray, and E. Ellice, 
or any person in their employ, to claim or exer- 
cise any trade with the Indians on the north-west 
coast of America, to the westward of the Stony 
Mountains, to the prejudice or exclusion of any 
citizen of the United States of America, who may 
be engaged in the said trade: Provided always, 
that no British subjects other than and except the 
said Governor and Company, and the said W. Mc- 
Gillivray, S. McGillivray, and E. Ellice, and the 
persons authorized to carry on exclusive trade 
by them on grant, shall trade with the Indians 
within such limits, during the period of this our 
grant." Under this license, the parties to whom 
it was granted continued their operations until 
1824, when the claims of the North-West Com- 
pany were extinguished by mutual consent; the 
Hudson's Bay Company then became the sole pos- 



Illustrative Documents 179 

sessor of the privileges conceded, which were en- 
joyed by that body until the expiration of the 
grant. Previous to that period, 1838, a new grant 
was made to the Company, entitled, ''Crown Grant 
to the Hudson's Bay Company of the Exclusive 
Trade with the Indians in certain parts of North 
America, for a term of twenty-one Years, and 
upon Surrender of a former Grant." 

Said grant of 1838 provided: "We do hereby 
grant and give our license, under the hand and 
seal of one of our principal secretaries of state, to 
the said Governor and Company, and their suc- 
cessors, for the exclusive privilege of trading with 
the Indians in all such parts of North America, to 
the northward and to the westward of the lands 
and territories belonging to the United States of 
America, as shall not form part of any of our 
provinces in North America, or of any lands or 
territories belonging to the said United States of 
America, or to any European government, state, 
or power, but subject, nevertheless, as hereinafter 
mentioned: And we do, by these presents, give, 
grant, and secure, to the said Governor and Com- 
pany, and their successors, the sole and exclusive 
privilege, for the full period of twenty-one years 
from the date of this our grant, of trading with the 
Indians in all such parts of North America as 
aforesaid (except as hereinafter mentioned)." 
Said grant of 1838 also provided: "But we do 
hereby declare that nothing in this our grant con- 
tained shall be deemed or construed to authorize 
the said Governor and Company, or their succes- 
sors, or any persons in their employ, to claim or 



i8o Dr. John McLoughlin 

exercise any trade with the Indians on the north- 
west coast of America, to the westward of the 
Stony Mountains, to the prejudice or exclusion 
of any of the subjects of any foreign states, who, 
under or by force of any convention for the time 
being, between us and such foreign states, respec- 
tively, may be entitled to, and shall be engaged 
in, the said trade." ^*^ 

DOCUMENT D 

Excerpts from Manuscript Journal of Rev. Jason 
Lee, 

The following excerpts are taken from the man- 
uscript journal of Rev. Jason Lee, all of which is 
in his handwriting. This original journal is now 
in the possession of the Oregon Historical Society. 

"Vancouver, Teus[day], Sept. i6, 1834. • 

Arrived at Fort Vancouver 3 o'clock found the 
Governor and other Gentlemen connected with the 
Fort on shore waiting our arrival and conducted 
us to the Fort and gave us food which was very 
acceptable as we had eaten our last for breakfast. 
We received every attention from these Gentle- 
men. Our baggage was brought and put into a 
spacious room without consulting us and the room 
assigned for our use and we had the pleasure of 
sleeping again within the walls of a house after a 
long and fatiguing journey replete with menacies, 
deprivations, toil and prosperity. 



•" Greenhow's History of Oregon and California, pp. 323-325, 467- 
476 (second edition, 1845) \ Martin's Hudson Bay Territories and Van- 



Illustrative Documents i8i 

"I have been much delighted today in viewing 
the improvements of the farm, &c. The dinner 
was as good and served in as good stile as in any 
gentleman's house in the east. Fine mus[k] & 
water melons and apples were set before us which 
were indeed a luxury after the dry living we have 
had for some time. After dinner took a turn in 
the Garden and was astonished to find it in such 
a high state of cultivation. The orchard is young 
but the quantity of the fruit is so great that many 
of the branches would break if they were not pre- 
vented by props. 

"Dr. McLoughlin the Governor of the Fort 
seems pleased that Missionaries have come to the 
country and freely offers us any assistance that it 
is in his power to render. It is his decided opinion 
that we should commence somewhere in this vicin- 
ity. O Lord do thou direct us in the choice of a 
location. This evening received the joyful intel- 
igence that Capt. Wyeth's Brig was in sight. It is 
a matter of joy because the last we heard it was on 
a sand-bar some 70 mi. below and we found we 
should be obliged to go down for our goods. Is 
not the hand of Providence in all this? Would to 
God that I could praise him as I ought for his 
gracious dealings with us. It is now past 11 
o'clock and I must commend myself to divine care 
and retire. 

"Friday Sep. 19, 1834. Daniel and myself 

are now on the bank of the Willamette River a lit- 
tle distance from Mr. McKay's place. Wednesday 

couver's Island, pp. 151-165; Bryce's The Remarkable History of the 
Hudson's Bay Company, Chapters XXIV to XXIX. 



1 82 Dr. John McLoughlin 



expected that the Brig would come up to Van- 
couver and we should receive our goods there but 
the want of wind prevented her coming up. Went 
on board just at night and ascertained that we 
could not get them until the cargo was taken out. 
Slept on board and walked to the Fort 3 mi. in 
the morning and commenced preparations for a 
trip up the Willamette. Dr. Mc. made all the 
necessary preparations of men, boat, food, &c. and 
we were off about 4 o'clock. Camped upon the 
sand. Started early this morning and came to the 
mouth of the W. [Willamette] and found the Brig 
there. Took breakfast on board. Waited while 
Capt's Lambert, Wyeth & Thing explored the vi- 
cinity in search of a place to suit their business 
but the[y] could find none to please them. Left 
them with the expectation that they will unload 
some of their goods and arms at or near the place 
where they now are. Arrived >4 past i o'clock." 
After an exploring trip up the Willamette 
River, which is described in his journal, Jason Lee 
sets forth: "Sat. 27 [Sept.]. Arrived at the Fort 
g. h. found our brethern well. 

"After mature deliberation on the subject of our 
location and earnest prayer for divine direction I 
have nearly concluded to go to the W. [Willam- 
ette]." 

"Sun. 28 Sep. 1834. — A. M. Assayed to preach 
to a mixed congregation English French scotch 
Irish Indians Americans Half Breeds Japanese 
&c. some of whom did not understand 5 words of 
english. Found it extremely difficult to collect my 
thoughts or find language to express them but am 



Illustrative Documents 183 

thankful that I have been permited to plead the 
cause of God on this side the Ry. Mountains where 
the banners of Christ were never before unfurled. 
Great God grant that it may not be in vain but may 
some fruit appear even from this feeble attempt 
to labour for Thee. 

"Evening Preached again but with as little lib- 
erty as in the morning, but still I find it is good to 
worship God in the public congregation." 

"Mon. Sep. 29, 1834. This morning began to 
make preparations in good earnest for our depar- 
ture to the W. [Willamette] and after dinner em- 
barked in one of the Company's boats kindly 
maned for us by Dr. McLoughlin who has treated 
us with the utmost politeness, attention and liber- 
ality. The Gentlemen of the Fort accompanied 
us to the boat and most heartily wished us great 
success in our enterprise. Arrived at the lower 
mouth of the W. where Capt. Wyeth's Brig is late 
in the evening." . . . 

"Wednes[day] Sep. 31, 1834. This morning 
put Br's D. Lee & Edwards on shore to go to Mr. 
M Kay's place to get horses and we pursued our 
course up the river. Met Capt. Wyeth on his re- 
turn from his farm and shall not see him again til 
summer. Camped on a small prairie about 9 mi. 
from the Falls and found here the men which the 
Dr. had sent with the cattle he has lent us 8 oxen 
8 cows & 8 calves." 

After November 9, 1834, there is no entry in this 
journal until August 18, 1837, where there is an 
entry by Jason Lee, saying that he has not kept 
up his journal. There is no further entry until 



184 Dr. John McLoughlin 

July 28, 1838, which was written at North Fork, 
Platte River, when he was on his first trip to the 
eastern states. He says in his journal that on Feb- 
ruary 16, 1838: "The 16 Feb. [1838] I set out for 
Umpqua, and after 23 days, of toil and hard-ship 
reached home in safety, and after a few days rest 
found myself rather better for the trip. This was 
encouraging, considering the difficulties encoun- 
tered such as being drenched in rain many times, 
fording creeks high enough to wet our feet, sleep- 
ing in wet clothes, and blankets, very bad roads 
and sometimes hard marching, &c. The subject of 
the necessity of some one of the Mission Family 
visiting the U. S. had been agitated during the 
winter, and it was at length decided by a majority 
that it was expedient for me to go. Previous to 
leaving for Umpqua, I had written Dr. McLough- 
lin, requesting a passage, in the companies Boats, 
with himself by the Hudson Bay route. This I 
greatly preferred to the route I eame, as less 
fatiguing, less dangerous, better calculated to re- 
store my debilitated system, and much more likely 
to afford new, interesting and useful information. 
The answer was near when I left, and was to be 
brought me by a man, who was to overtake us the 
second day, but by mistake he sent it to my house, 
hence I did not get it till my return. The Dr. 
could not grant my request, and expressed himself 
'doubly mortified;' because he could not do me the 
favour, and should also be deprived of my com- 
pany." The remainder of the journal is taken up 
with the account by Jason Lee of his trip East. 
March 26, 1838, there is an entry that he left the 



Illustrative Documents 185 

Mission House on the Willamette for the United 
States. March 28 he arrived at Fort Vancouver. 
On April 4 he left Fort Vancouver in company 
with a Hudson's Bay Company's party bound for 
the Rocky Mountains. The rest of the journal is 
taken up with his trip Eastward. The last entry 
in his journal says that on July 17, 1838, he was 
at Sweet Water River. 



DOCUMENT E 

Rev. Jason Lee's visit to the Eastern States in 
l8j8; and his Report to the Missionary Board 
at New York in 1 844. 

On arriving in the Eastern States in 1838 Rev. 
Jason Lee seems to have become imbued with the 
zeal and fervor of an evangelist in regard to chris- 
tianizing the Oregon Indians, and the necessity 
of more missionaries in Oregon. Rev. Dr. Hines 
in his Missionary History of the Pacific North- 
west^ p. 194, says: "Mr. Lee devoted the winter of 
1838 and the summer of 1839 to traveling and de- 
livering missionary addresses in the cities and 
larger towns of the Atlantic states. He was ac- 
companied in his journeys by the two Indian boys, 
Wm. Brooks and Thomas Adams, brought with 
him from his missionary school in Oregon, whose 
presence and intelligent speeches added greatly 
to the popular enthusiasm. Lee's appeals were 
irresistible. The fire of his zeal caught on the 
altars of the church everywhere. Oregon and the 
Oregon Mission fired the heart of the church as no 



1 86 Dr. John McLoughlin 

mission ever did before. The age of apostolic fer- 
vor seemed to have returned, and Lee was in the 
eye of the church like the great Apostle to the 
Gentiles building on no other man's foundation. 
The thought of distant wilds, where uncounted 
red men waited and longed for deliverance from 
the darkness of heathenism that had wrapped all 
their race for all these ages became an ever present 
vision to the church of the United States." In this 
History^ p. 195, Dr. Hines also says: "Poverty 
donated its little; wealth gave its 'gold, frankin- 
cense, and myrrh.' . . . The culture of Boston 
responded; the pride of New York cast its jewels 
into the treasury. The staid sobriety of Philadel- 
phia wept and shouted and gave. Baltimore out- 
did the renown of her ancient missionary fame. 
Lee, erst the lumberman of Canada, later the pio- 
neer missionary, who had dipped his banner in the 
spray of the Pacific was the hero of the hour." But 
in his oral report to the Missionary Board in July, 
1844, after quoting the following from the letter 
of a complaining fellow missionary who went to 
Oregon on the Lausanne: "And indeed they [the 
Indians] have no life or energy and are a melan- 
choly, doomed race," Jason Lee said: "I think 
this is in part true, the Indians on the Willamette 
will become, as a distinct race, extinct. But I 
think there will be more Indian blood through 
amalgamation, running in the veins of white men 
a hundred years hence, than would have been run- 
ning in the veins of the Indians, if they had been 
left to themselves." 

In July, 1844, Rev. Jason Lee made an oral 



Illustrative Documents 187 

report to the Missionary Board in New York. 
This report was not reduced to writing in full but 
a brief statement of it was made. A copy of this 
report, as reduced to writing, corrected by, and in 
Jason Lee's handwriting, is in the possession of the 
Oregon Historical Society. The principal seri- 
ous charges made against Jason Lee, and which 
caused his summary removal as Superintendent 
of the Oregon Methodist Mission, had been made 
secretly, and without notice to him, by members 
of the Oregon Mission. Lee answered these 
charges in detail, occasionally with some indigna- 
tion. These charges against Jason Lee were: us- 
ing the Mission's funds for speculation for his own 
use; misuse of Mission funds; and failure to re- 
port concerning the property of the Mission. 

In this report Jason Lee said of certain Metho- 
dist missionaries: 

"In one of Bro. Abernethy's letters, he tells you 
that the Superintendent [Jason Lee] refused to 
send the report of the state of the property home. 
There is some error in this. I cannot, I will not, 
believe that A. intended to charge me with oppos- 
ing the sending of that report. 

"Before I had left Oregon I was aware that Bro. 
Hines had written to the Board. He had read 
part of his communication to some persons, who 
had hinted to me about it. He started from Ore- 
gon with me, and I was in hopes we should have 
met face to face before this Board. He returned, 
however, from the Sandwich Islands to Oregon. 

"Bro. Kone complains of my treatment of him, 
and professes to know my secret reasons for wish- 



1 88 Dr. John McLoughlin 

ing to keep all in the field. I never had any secret 
reasons. . . . Bro. Kone by his injudicious re- 
marks caused great excitement among the laymen, 
and made much difficulty. 

"He considered Dr. Richmond his enemy be- 
cause he had so declared himself, and sent word to 
him [Mr. Lee] that he was his antagonist. And 
he hoped as they had heard his enemy they would 
hear him. 

"Of Bro. Frost I cannot say much. He has 
made no thorough effort to bring sinners to God. 
I mean such an effort as would render it probable 
that these Indians could not be benefited by the 
Gospel." 

In this report Jason Lee also spoke of some 
other Methodist missionaries who had made 
charges against him, without giving their names. 

As the Board seems to have exonerated Jason 
Lee from all charges, it must have found that these 
charges made in Oregon were untrue, or un- 
founded, or not justified. Exonerating Jason Lee 
was, in effect, condemning those persons who made 
the charges, and finding that their charges were 
false. In this report Rev. Jason Lee also said: 
"When the Board sent out its last large reinforce- 
ment, its object in my view and I believe in theirs 
was that Methodism should spread throughout 
Oregon; for what purpose else, I ask, did so large 
a number of laymen go out? If it was only to 
form one or two stations, it appears to me that both 
the Board and myself as their agent must have 
taken leave of our senses. If my associates had 
stood firm to their post, and persevered willingly 



Illustrative Documents 189 

in the work consigned them, I have not a doubt 
but far more favorable accounts w^ould have 
reached you from that distant country. The plans 
I assert w^ere well formed and had I been sustained 
the object would have been accomplished. A great 
mistake was made in selecting some of those who 
were sent out. I allude not to the number but the 
qualifications of certain individuals. I forewarned 
the Oregon Committee that if the persons who ap- 
plied for situations were not examined by a proper 
committee the plan would fail. Such proved to be 
the case. As proof I aver that we had not reached 
our first stopping place in South America, before 
some desired to return to the United States, and 
even after touching at the S. [Sandwich] Islands 
before we had reached Oregon one wanted to re- 
turn and secure the Chaplaincy at the Islands. I 
have had much to contend with, and I regret that 
men of more steadfast minds had not been chosen. 
Such persons do more injury to a distant Mission 
than they do good, and no one knows the difficul- 
ties I have had to pass through." 

In this report Rev. Jason Lee said further: "He 
[Dr. McLoughlin] is a Catholic. Previous to the 
Priests going there, I was his intimate friend, - his 
confidant. Such was my influence with the Cana- 
dian part of the settlement, that they would have 
been pleased to give me their church and have no 
Priest come. Since my return I have not time to 
instruct their children as we used to do, and the 
Priests have taken them." 



190 Dr. John McLoughlin 



DOCUMENT F 

Excerpts from Narrative of Commodore Charles 
Wilkes, U. S. N., published in Philadelphia in 

1845- 

Commander Charles Wilkes of the United States 
Navy, (afterwards Commodore) had charge of an 
exploring expedition during the years 1838- 1842, 
which came to the Oregon Country in 1841. His 
squadron consisted of six vessels, which arrived 
at Puget Sound in 1841. He left his ships at 
Puget Sound and came overland to Vancouver in 
May, 1 841. In his narrative of his exploring ex- 
pedition, published in 1845, Wilkes says, (vol. 
IV, p. 327) : "He [Dr. McLoughlin] is a tall 
fine-looking person, of a very robust frame, with 
a frank, manly, open countenance, and a florid 
complexion; his hair is perfectly white. He gave 
us that kind reception we had been led to expect 
from his well known hospitality. He is of Scotch 
parentage, but by birth, a Canadian, enthusiastic 
in disposition, possessing great energy of charac- 
ter, and extremely well suited for the situation he 
occupies, which requires great talent and industry. 
He at once ordered dinner for us, and we soon 
felt ourselves at home, having comfortable rooms 
assigned us, and being treated as part of the estab- 
lishment." And on page 331 he says: "The liber- 
ality and freedom from sectarian principles of Dr. 
M'Loughlin may be estimated from his being thus 
hospitable to missionaries of so many Protestant 
denominations, although he is a professed Cath- 



Illustrative Documents 191 

olic, and has a priest of the same faith officiating 
daily at the chapel. Religious toleration is al- 
lowed in its fullest extent. The dining-hall is 
given up on Sunday to the use of the ritual of the 
Anglican Church, and Mr. Douglass or a mission- 
ary reads the service. . . . Messrs. Griffith and 
Clarke were entirely disappointed in finding self- 
support here, and had it not been for the kindness 
of Dr. M'Loughlin, who took them in, they would 
have suffered much. They were advised to settle 
themselves on the Faulitz Plains, where I have 
understood they have since taken land, and suc- 
ceeded in acquiring quite respectable farms." 

June 3, 1 841, Wilkes left Vancouver to make 
an exploring trip up the Willamette Valley. In 
his account of this trip he says in his narrative, 
(vol. IV, pp. 343-344) : "We reached the falls 
about noon, where we found the missionary station 
under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Waller. . . . 
There was a petty dispute between Mr. Waller and 
the [Hudson's Bay] Company, and he complained 
of them. It seems that the Company refuse to buy 
any beaver-skins, except from the hunters and 
trappers; and he accuses them of monopoly in 
consequence. The Company, on the other hand, 
say that they have no idea of selling goods out of 
their own stores, for the purpose of enabling others 
to enter into competition with them ; and that they 
will spare no expense to keep the trade, as long as 
they can, in their own hands. This is certainly not 
unfair. I cannot help feeling it is quite unsuited 
to the life of a missionary, to be entering into trade 
of any kind. To embark in traffic must, I think, 



192 Dr. John McLoughlin 

tend to destroy the usefulness of a missionary, or 
divert his attention from the great cause in which 
he is engaged. I am very far from attaching any 
blame on this account to the missionaries, v^hose 
avowed object is to teach the arts of civilization, 
as well as the Word of God, and I have no doubt 
that they are doing all in their power to promote 
the latter object; but I am disposed to think, that 
any complaints against the Hudson Bay Company 
for endeavouring to keep the trade in their own 
hands, comes with an ill grace from the members 
of a Mission who are daily receiving the kindest 
attentions and hospitality from its officers." In 
vol. IV, p. 351, he says: "The lands of the Meth- 
odist Mission are situated on the banks of the Wil- 
lamette river, on a rich plain adjacent to fine for- 
ests of oak and pine. They are about eight miles 
beyond the Catholic Mission, consequently eight- 
een miles from Champooing, in a southern direc- 
tion. . . . We had the expectation of getting a 
sight of the Indians on whom they were inculcat- 
ing good habits and teaching the word of God; but 
with the exception of four Indian servants, we 
saw none since leaving the Catholic Mission. On 
inquiring, I was informed that they had a school 
of twenty pupils, some ten miles distant, at the 
mill; that there were but few adult Indians in the 
neighborhood; and that their intention and prin- 
cipal hope was to establish a colony, and by their 
example to induce the white settlers to locate near 
those over whom they trusted to exercise a moral 
and religious influence." 

In vol. IV, p. 352, he says: "The next day the 



Illustrative Documents 193 

gentlemen of the Mission proposed a ride to what 
they term 'the Mill,' distant about nine miles, in a 
southeast direction. . . . We reached 'the Mill' 
by noon, which consists of a small grist and saw 
mill on the borders of an extensive prairie. They 
are both under the same roof, and are worked by 
a horizontal wheel. . . . From the number of 
persons about the premises, this little spot had the 
air and stir of a new secular settlement; and I 
understood that it is intended to be the permanent 
location of the Mission, being considered more 
healthy than the bank of the Willamette. The 
missionaries, as they told me, have made individ- 
ual selections of lands to the amount of one thou- 
sand acres each, in prospect of the whole country 
falling under our laws." 

On page 355 of the same volume he says : "I am 
aware that the missionaries come out to this coun- 
try to colonize, and with the Christian religion as 
their guide and law, to give the necessary instruc- 
tion, and hold out inducements to the Indians to 
quit their wandering habits, settle, and become 
cultivators of the soil. This object has not been 
yet attained in any degree, as was admitted by the 
missionaries themselves; and how it is to be ef- 
fected without having constantly around them 
large numbers, and without exertions and stren- 
uous efiforts, I am at a loss to conceive. I cannot 
but believe, that the same labour and money which 
have been expended here, would have been much 
more appropriately and usefully spent among the 
tribes about the Straits of Juan de Fuca, who are 
numerous, and fit objects for instruction." And on 



194 I^^' John McLoughlin 

page 356 Commander Wilkes says: "Three years 
since, O'Neill came to the valley with only a shirt 
to his back, as he expressed it; he began by work- 
ing part of this farm, and obtained the loan of cat- 
tle and other articles from Dr. M'Loughlin, all 
of which he has, from the natural increase of his 
stock and out of his crops, since repaid. He has 
bought the farm, has two hundred head of stock, 
horses to ride on, and a good suit of clothes, all 
earned by his own industry; and he says it is only 
necessary for him to work one month in the year 
to make a living; the rest of the time he may amuse 
himself. He spoke in the highest terms of Dr. 
M'Loughlin, and the generous aid he had afforded 
him in the beginning." 

The Peacock, one of the vessels of the squadron, 
was wrecked July 18, 1841, on a spit near Cape 
Disappointment on the north side of the entrance 
to the Columbia River, ever since known as Pea- 
cock Spit. The vessel was a total loss. Com- 
mander Wilkes says that the crew of the Peacock 
were supplied with clothing through the kindness 
of Dr. McLoughlin and the officers of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. Wilkes further says that 
"every facility has been at all times extended [by 
Dr. McLoughlin] to newcomers and settlers; it is 
sufficient that they are of good character, and the 
use of cattle, horses, farming utensils, and supplies, 
is invariably extended to facilitate their opera- 
tions, until such time as they are able to provide 
for themselves." At the time of the wreck of the 
Peacock, there was lying at Astoria the American 
brig Thomas H. Perkins. She was under charter 



Illustrative Documents 195 

to the Hudson's Bay Company. Dr. McLoughlin 
readily agreed to surrender the charter party for a 
small consideration, if the goods he had on board 
were delivered at Fort Vancouver. This Wilkes 
agreed to and purchased the brig. He changed 
her name to the "Oregon." In August, 1841, the 
Oregon was taken to Fort Vancouver to be re- 
paired and outfitted. In the meantime Wilkes 
proceeded slowly up the Columbia River in the 
naval gun-brig Porpoise, of two hundred and 
thirty tons, making a survey of the river. The 
Porpoise arrived at Fort Vancouver August 28, 
and remained there until September 14, 1841. 
The expedition was treated with kindness and 
courtesy while at Fort Vancouver. 

Fresh beef seems to have been scarce even in 
1 841. Wilkes in his narrative says that on Sep- 
tember 27, 1 841, the Porpoise was at Puget's Is- 
land, near Cathlamet. Here he was joined by 
Michel La Framboise, in the employ of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, "who brought a supply of 
fresh beef for the crew, which they were much 
in need of." On leaving the Columbia River, 
Wilkes addressed a letter from Baker's Bay, dated 
October 5, 1841, to Dr. McLoughlin and James 
Douglas as Chief Factors of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, giving thanks "for the important aid 
and facilities which you have afiforded the Expe- 
dition on all occasions, for carrying out the object 
of our visit to this part of the world;" and saying, 
"be assured it will prove a very pleasing part of my 
duty to make a due representation of it to my gov- 
ernment." And also saying: "Your personal kind- 



196 Dr. John McLoughltn 

ness and friendly attention to myself and officers, 
from our first arrival, and also to Captain Hud- 
son and his officers after the wreck of the Peacock, 
have laid me under many obligations which I trust 
it may be at some future day in our power to re- 
turn." (Vol. V, p. 147). 



DOCUMENT G 

Letter from Henry Brallier to Frederick V. Hol- 

man of October 2J^ IQOS- 

Since I delivered my address on McLoughlin 
Day, I have received the following letter. The 
persons referred to are probably a small party, 
who came to Oregon prior to 1840. There were 
several small parties of immigrants to Oregon, 
who came prior to 1842. Robert Shortess came 
overland in 1839 and 1840 to Oregon with one of 
these parties. 

"Seaside, Oct. 27, 1905." 
"Mr. Frederick V. Holman, 

"Portland, Oregon. 
"Dear Sir: In the Sunday Oregonian of the 15th 
of this month I see an interesting account of Dr. 
McLoughlin, but one act of his that showed his 
human kindness, I have never seen in print. This 
a man by the name of Marechell told me. He was 
an old Hudson's Bay man who died here in his 
eighty-sixth year. He could not recollect the 
exact year, but it was a year or two after Wyeth 
came, the emigrants got lost in the head waters of 
Snake River, and would have all perished but the 
Indians brought word from one tribe to another 



Illustrative Documents 197 

about them being there, until it reached Fort Van- 
couver. When the Doctor heard it, he rushed 
around like one wild and called. Where is Mare- 
chelll Where is La Framboise.' He started them 
with a lot of provisions in their canoes, with some 
others to help to the Cascades, there to pack them 
over, then get them in their canoes again, take them 
to The Dalles, and there they got ponies to pack 
them on their journey to the emigrants, a weary 
trip. And after some two weeks' trip, they found 
the emigrants encamped in a small valley, there 
still to live a short time and then starve to death. 
He said if ever it tried a man's soul, then it did his. 
The poor women came running to him, fell on their 
knees, hugging them and crying. Men crying and 
blessing them and the Doctor for sending them. 
I often think if there is an upper seat around the 
throne of God, that the Doctor and some of those 
men that were so kind to others, are there now. 

"This man Marechell came with the Hudson's 
Bay Company, when he was 12 years of age, with 
his father. As near as he could tell he was about 
22 years of age when he took the trip to find the 
emigrants. 

"I came to the Coast in early '52; to Oregon in 
'58; to Astoria in '63, and to Seaside soon after. 
So I knew Marechell well, and did see La Fram- 
boise a number of times. So what Marechell told 
me I believe is true. 

"Beg pardon if this intrudes on your time and 
patience. 

"Respectfully, 

"Henry Brallier, 
"Seaside, Oregon." 



198 Dr. John McLoughltn 



DOCUMENT H 

Shortess Petition; excerpts from Gray's ''History 
of Oregon^' relating to Shortess Petition; and 
excerpt from speech of Samuel R. Thurston in 
Congress, December 26^ iS^O, as to author of 
Shortess Petition. 

"To the honorable the Senate and House of 
Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled: 

"We, the undersigned, settlers south of the 
Columbia river, beg leave respectfully to repre- 
sent to your honorable body: 

"As has been before represented to your honor- 
able body, we consider ourselves citizens of the 
United States, and acknowledge the right of the 
United States to extend its jurisdiction over us; 
and the object of the present memorial is to ask 
that the protection of the United States Govern- 
ment may be extended to us as soon as possible. 
Hitherto, our numbers have been small, and the 
few difficulties that arose in the settlement were 
speedily and satisfactorily settled. But as our set- 
tlement increases in numbers, so our difficulties in- 
crease in number and importance; and unless we 
can have laws to govern us that will be respected 
and obeyed, our situation will be a deplorable one. 
Where the highest court of appeal is the rifle, 
safety in life and property cannot be depended on. 
"The state of the country, its climate, resources, 
soil, productions, &c., has already been laid before 



Illustrative Documents 199 

your honorable body, in Captain Wyeth's memoir 
and in former memorials from the inhabitants of 
this place. 

"Laws are made to protect the weak against the 
mighty; and we feel the necessity of them in the 
steps that are constantly taken by the honorable 
Hudson Bay Company, in their opposition to the 
improvement and enterprise of American citizens. 
You have been apprized already of their opposi- 
tion to Captains Wyeth, Bonneville, and others; 
and we find that the same spirit dwells with them 
at the present day. Some years ago, when the 
Hudson Bay Company owned all the cattle in 
Oregon, they would not sell on any conditions; 
but they would lend their cows to the settler -he 
returning to the company the cows loaned, with 
all the increase; and, in case of the death of a cow, 
he then had the privilege of paying for it. But, 
after the settlers, at great risk and expense, went 
to California, and purchased cattle for themselves, 
and there was a fair prospect of the settlement be- 
ing supplied, then the Hudson Bay Company 
were willing to sell, and at lower rates than the 
settler could sell. 

"In the year 1841, feeling the necessity of hav- 
ing mills erected that could supply the settlement 
with flour and lumber, a number of the inhabi- 
tants formed themselves into a joint stock com- 
pany, for the purpose of supplying the growing 
wants of the community. [Many of the farmers 
were obliged to leave their farms on the Willam- 
ette, and go six miles above Vancouver, on the 
Columbia River -making the whole distance 



200 Dr. John McLoughlin 

about sixty miles - to get their wheat ground, at a 
great loss of time and expense.] The company 
was formed, and proceeded to select a site. They 
selected an island at the falls of the Willamette, 
and concluded to commence their operations. 
After commencing, they are informed by Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin, who is at the head of the Hudson Bay 
Company's affairs west of the Rocky Mountains, 
that the island is his, and that he (although a chief 
factor of the Hudson Bay Company) claims all 
the lands at the east side of the Willamette, em- 
bracing the falls down to the Klakamus river, a 
distance of about two miles. He had no idea, we 
presume, that the company would succeed. How- 
ever, he erected a shed on the island, after the stuff 
was on the island to build a house, and then gave 
them permission to build under certain restric- 
tions. They took the paper he wrote them, con- 
taining his conditions; but did not obligate them- 
selves to comply with the conditions, as they did 
not think his claim just or reasonable. 

"Many projects had been started by the inhabi- 
tants, but, for want of means and encouragement, 
failed. This fate was predicted for the Milling 
Company. But, after much labor and difficulty, 
they succeeded in getting a saw mill erected, and 
ready to run; and entered into a contract to have 
a grist mill erected forthwith. And now, as they 
have succeeded, where is the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany? Dr. McLoughlin employs hands to get out 
a frame for a saw mill, and erect it at the Willam- 
ette falls ; and we find, as soon as the frame is up, 
the gearing which has been made at Vancouver is 



Illustrative Documents 201 

brought up in boats; and that which caused a 
feeble company of American citizens months of 
toil and embarrassment is accomplished by the 
chief factor of the Hudson Bay Company in a few 
weeks; (he has men and means) ; and it is said by 
him, that in two weeks his mill will be sawing. 
And what will be the consequences? Why, if the 
Milling Company sell for $15 per thousand, he 
can sell for $12; if they reduce the price to $10, he 
can come to $8, or $5, or $2 per thousand. He says 
he will have a grist mill started as soon as he gets 
the saw mill in operation. 

"All the wheat raised in Oregon they are anx- 
ious to get, as they ship it to the Russians on the 
Northwest coast. In the first place, they measured 
the wheat in a half bushel, called by them im- 
perial measure, much larger than the standard 
measure of the United States; this not answering, 
they next proceeded to kick the half bushel with 
the foot, to settle the wheat; then they brought up 
a measure larger than the former one; and now 
they fill this measure, then strike it three times 
with a stout club, and then fill it up, and call it fair 
measure. Against such proceedings we need law 
that will be respected and obeyed. 

"About twelve or fourteen years ago the Hud- 
son Bay Company blasted a canal a few feet to 
conduct water to a mill they were going to build, 
the timber for which is now lying at the falls rot- 
ting. They, however, abandoned the thing alto- 
gether, and built their mills on the Columbia, 
about six miles above Fort Vancouver, on the 
north side of the river. 



101 Dr. John McLoughlin 

"In the year 1838, agreeably to orders left by 
Mr. Slacum, a house was erected at the falls, to se- 
cure the claim for him. 

"In 1840, the Methodist mission erected build- 
ings at the falls, and stationed two families there, 
and made a claim to sufficient land for their build- 
ings, not interfering with any others who might 
wish to build. A short time previous to this. Dr. 
McLoughlin had a storehouse erected for the 
company, not occupied, however, further than to 
store wheat and other articles in, and as a trading 
house during the salmon season. 

"After this, in 1841, a shantee was erected, and 
a man kept at the falls, whose business it was to 
trade with the Indians for furs and salmon, and 
look out for the Doctor's claim, he said, and to 
forbid persons building at the falls, as some had 
built, and others were about building. This man 
was, and still is, a servant of the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany. 

"During the years 1841 and 1842, several fam- 
ilies settled at the falls, when Dr. McLoughlin, 
who still resides at Fort Vancouver, comes on the 
ground, and says the land is his, and any person 
building without his permission is held as a tres- 
passer. Without reference to any person's right or 
claim, he employs a surveyor to lay out the plat; 
and as a bill was before the Senate of the United 
States to grant to every white male inhabitant a 
mile square, he has a mile run out to suit his views, 
and lays out a town plat at the falls, and calls it 
Oregon City. And although some, for peace sake, 
asked him for the lots they had already in posses- 



Illustrative Documents 203 

sion, and which he appeared very willing to grant, 
the Doctor now felt himself secure, and posted up 
the annexed paper, (marked A) which is the origi- 
nal ; and all who had lots were required to pay Mr. 
Hastings five dollars for a deed of land which they 
knew very well the grantor did not own, and 
which we hope he never will own, but that Con- 
gress will pass a special act granting to each man 
his lot and improvements. Those that applied 
received (if they had a house on the lot) a deed, a 
copy of Vv^hich is annexed, (marked B) ; if they had 
no house, a bond was given for five dollars, a copy 
of which is annexed, (marked C). To those that 
applied and paid their five dollars, all was right 
with the Doctor; while those who considered his 
title to the land not good, and that therefore he 
had no right to direct who should build and who 
should not, had their lots sold to others. In one 
case the purchaser came to the original claimant, 
and ordered him to stop digging the ground which 
he was preparing for a garden, and commanded 
him to remove his fences, as he had Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin's bond in his pocket for the lots; and if 
he did not move his fence he would, and take for- 
cible possession. Those who desired to have no 
difficulty, and did not apply for a deed, have lost 
their lots, the Doctor's promise, and all. And Mr. 
Hastings (the Doctor's agent) is now offering for 
sale the lots on which part of the mission buildings 
stand; and if he succeeds in finding a purchaser, 
they must either contend or lose their buildings. 

"Dr. McLoughlin had held claims in other 
places south of the Columbia river - at the Tua- 



204 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

latin plains and Klakamus plains he had huts 
erected, to prevent others from building; and such 
is the power of Dr. McLoughlin, that many per- 
sons are actually afraid to make their situation 
known, thinking, if he hears of it, he will stop 
their supplies. Letters were received here from 
Messrs. Ladd & Co., of the Sandwich Islands, in 
answer to a letter written by the late Mr. Ewing 
Young, for a few supplies, that orders were re- 
ceived, forbidding the company's vessels carrying 
any goods for the settlers of Oregon. Every means 
will be made use of by them to break down every- 
thing that will draw trade to this country, or en- 
able persons to get goods at any other place than 
their store. 

"One other item, and we are done. When any 
United States Government officers of distinction 
arrive, Vancouver is thrown open, and every facil- 
ity afforded them. They were even more conde- 
scending to the settlers during the time the explor- 
ing squadron was in the Columbia; nothing was 
left undone to give the officers a high opinion 
of the honorable Hudson Bay Company. Our In- 
dian agent is entirely dependent on them for sup- 
plies and funds to carry on his operations. 

"And now your memorialists pray your honor- 
able body, that immediate action of Congress be 
taken in regard to this country, and good and 
wholesome laws be enacted for our Territory, as 
may, in your wisdom, be thought best for the good 
of the American citizens residing here. 

"And your memorialists will ever pray. 

"Robert Shortess, A. E. Wilson, William C. 



Illustrative Documents 205 

Remick, Jeffrey Brown, E. N. Coombs, Reuben 
Lewis, George Davis, V. Bennet, J. Rekener, T. J. 
Hubbard, James A. O'Neil, Jer. Horregon, Wil- 
liam McKarty, Charles Compo, John Howard, 
his + mark, R. Williams, G. Brown, John Turner, 
Theodore Pancott, A. F. Waller, John Hofstatter, 
G. W. Bellamy, William Brown, A. Beers, J. L. 
Parrish, William H. Gray, A. D. Smith, J. C. 
Bridges, Aaron Cook, A. Copeland, S. W. Moss, 
Gustavus Hines, George W. LeBreton, J. R. Robb, 
J. L. Morrison, M. Crawford, John Anderson, 
James M. Bates, L. H. Judson, Joel Turnham, 
Richard H. Ekin, H. Campbell, James Force, 
W. H. Willson, Felix Hathaway, J. Lawson, 
Thomas J. Shadden, Joseph Gibbs, his + mark, 
S. Lewis, Jr., Charles Roy, William Brum, S. 
Davis, Joseph Yatten, Daniel Girtman, C. T. Ar- 
rendrill, A. Tonner, David Carter, J. J. Camp- 
bell, W. Johnson, John Edmunds, W. Hauxhurst, 
W. A. Pfeiffer, J. Holman, H. B. Brewer, Wil- 
liam C. Sutton. 

"Willamette, Oregon Territory, March 25, 

1843-" 



A 



NOTICE 

"Notice is hereby given to all whom it may con- 
cern, that those who have obtained grants of lots 
in Oregon City will be expected to call upon L. W. 
Hastings, my authorized agent at Oregon City, 
and obtain a bond for a deed or deeds, as the case 
may be. Those who hold claims to any lot, and 



2o6 Dr. John McLoughlin 

who comply with the above requisite on or before 
the first day of February next, will be entitled to 
their lot or lots; otherwise, the lots upon which 
they hold a claim will thereafter be subject to any 
disposition which the undersigned may think 
proper to make of them. 

"John McLoughlin." 
"January i8, 1843." 

"Oregon City, March 27, 1843." 
"We, the undersigned, do hereby certify that the 
within [above] notice of John McLoughlin was 
posted up in the most public place in this town. 

"R. Shortess." 
"A. E. Wilson." 



B. 

DEED— JOHN McLOUGHLIN TO WALTER 
POMEROY 

"Know all men by these presents, that I, John 
McLoughlin, of Fort Vancouver, in the Territory 
of Oregon, for and in consideration of the sum of 
one dollar, to me in hand paid by Walter Pome- 
roy, of Oregon City, of the Territory aforesaid, the 
receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have this 
day, and do by these presents, remit, release, and 
forever quit claim, unto the said Pomeroy, his 
heirs and assigns, all and singular the following 
piece, parcel, and lot of land, bounded and de- 
scribed as follows, to wit: commencing at the 
northeast corner, running thence southerly sixty- 
six (66) feet to a stake; thence westerly one hun- 
dred (100) feet to a stake; thence northerly sixty- 



Illustrative Documents 207 

six (66) feet to a stake; thence easterly one hun- 
dred ( 100) feet to a stake at the place of beginning 
-being lot number four, (4,) in block number 
three, (3,) in the town of Oregon City, in the Ter- 
ritory of Oregon, which will more fully appear 
from a reference to the map and plan of said town : 

"To have and to hold the same, together with 
all and singular the privileges and appurtenances 
thereunto in any wise appertaining or belonging, 
unto the said Pomeroy, his heirs, executors, ad- 
ministrators, or assigns, forever. 

"And I, the said McLoughlin, for myself, do 
avouch and declare, that I am the true and proper 
claimant of and to the said premises and lot of 
land, and that I have in myself full power, good 
right, and sufficient authority, to remit, release, 
and quit by claim, to all and singular my right, 
title, interest, and claim, in and to said lot and 
premises, in manner and form aforesaid. 

"And I, the said McLoughlin, do hereby cove- 
nant and agree to warrant and defend the said 
premises, together with the privileges and appur- 
tenances thereunto appertaining or belonging, to 
the said Pomeroy, his heirs and assigns, against all 
lawful claims of all persons whomsoever, the 
claims of the Government only excepted. 

"In testimony whereof, I, the said McLoughlin, 
have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, 
this the 2d day of March, A. D. 1843. 

"John McLoughlin, (L. S.)" 

"Per L. W. Hastings, his Agent." 

"We, the undersigned, do hereby acknowledge 



2o8 Dr. John McLoughlin 

that the above is a true and correct copy of the 
original. 

"R. Shortess." 
"A. E. Wilson." 



BOND— JOHN McLOUGHLIN TO ALBERT E. 
WILSON 

"Know all men by these presents, that I, John 
McLoughlin, of Fort Vancouver, in the Territory 
of Oregon, am held and firmly bound unto Albert 
E. Wilson, of Oregon City, in the Territory afore- 
said, in the full sum of five hundred, federal 
money; for the punctual payment of which, well 
and truly to be made, I bind myself, my heirs, 
executors, or administrators, firmly by these pres- 
ents. 

"In testimony whereof, I have hereunto, below, 
set my hand and affixed my seal, this the 26th day 
of December, A. D. 1842. 

"Now, know ye, that the condition of the above 
obligation is such, that whereas the said Wilson 
hath this day, and doth by these presents, purchase 
of the said McLoughlin all and singular the fol- 
lowing pieces, parcels, tracts, and lots of land, 
namely: lots No. four (4) and five (5) in block 
No. two, (2), in the town of Oregon City, in the 
Territory of Oregon, as is more fully shown by the 
map and plan of the said town; and hath, and by 
these presents doth, agree to build upon and im- 
prove each of the said lots within the term of one 
year from the date of these presents. In considera- 



Illustrative Documents 209 

tion of which, the said McLoughlin hath and 
doth by these presents covenant and agree to make 
to the said Wilson a good and sufficient quit claim 
deed for and to all and singular the above-men- 
tioned pieces, parcels, tracts, and lots of land, 
v^henever he, the said Wilson, shall have complied 
with the above conditions on his part. Now, if the 
said McLoughlin shall well and truly make, or 
cause to be made, the said deed to the said Wilson, 
upon the said Wilson's complying on his part with 
the above condition, then and in such case the 
within obligation shall become entirely void and 
of no effect; otherwise, to be and remain of full 
force and virtue. 

"John McLoughlin, (L. S.)" 
"Per L. W. Hastings, his Agent." 

"We, the undersigned, do hereby acknowledge 
the above to be a true and correct copy of the orig- 
inal. 

"R. Shortess." 
"A. E. Wilson." «^ 

W. H. Gray was one of the signers of the Shor- 
tess petition. In his History of Oregon, pp. 296, 
297, he says, in relation to certain persons who did 
not sign the Shortess petition: 

"Mr. George Abernethy declined to sign this 



'^ This copy of the Shortess petition is made from the United States 
Senate Document as printed by its order of February 7, 1844. It is 
Senate Document 105, 28th Congress, ist Session. One copy of this 
original Senate Document is in the possession of Milton W. Smith, 
Esq., of Portland, Oregon. By his courtesy the foregoing copy was 
made from said Senate Document. The purported copy of the Short- 
ess petition in Gray's History of Oregon and in Brown's Political His- 
tory of Oregon are not true copies. 



2IO Dr. John McLoughlin 

petition through fear of injuring the Methodist 
Mission in its secular or business relations with the 
Hudson's Bay Company. 

"Hugh Burns would not sign it because he did 
not wish Congress to be asked to confirm his title 
to lots and improvements. 

"Jason Lee, though he thought it right to peti- 
tion Congress for protection, yet on account of his 
position as Superintendent of the Methodist Mis- 
sion, and the influence of the [Hudson's Bay] 
Company against them should he sign it, thought 
it best not to give his name. 

"Dr. I. L. Babcock refused, because, by signing 
he would lose his influence with the [Hudson's 
Bay] company. 

"Walter Pomeroy, ditto. 

"Dr. Bailey did not wish any protection from 
the Congress of the United States. 

"Rev. H. K. W. Perkins was ashamed of the 
petition. 'What does Congress care about meas- 
uring wheat? or a contest between two milling 
companies?' 

"George Gay did not care anything about it. 
Congress might do as it pleased; he did not want 
its protection. 

"The people in Tualatin Plains did not have an 
opportunity to sign or refuse for want of time to 
circulate it in that section. The bearer of it, Wil- 
liam C. Sutton, was on his way to the States across 
the Rocky Mountains." 

Thurston in his speech in Congress December 
26, 1850, said, as to the author of the Shortess peti- 
tion: "I know the gentleman who wrote the orig- 



Illustrative Documents 211 

inal, whom to know is to respect, to listen to to 
believe. He is a gentleman of the highest stand- 
ing in Oregon, of some twelve or fourteen years 
residence and who would be universally believed 
on any subject on which he would presume to 
speak." ^"^ Thurston certainly did not refer to 
Shortess. The latter, while a man of ability and 
some education, was of an ascetic disposition, in- 
tense in his dislikes and given to sarcasm. He was 
not a popular man. 

That the Shortess petition was written by 
George Abernethy is shown in a foot-note on page 
207 of volume i. History of Oregon^ Bancroft's 
Works, where it is said that "such is the statement 
of Shortess made to Elwood Evans by letter in 
1867," quoting from a manuscript history of Ore- 
gon written by Evans for Bancroft. Subsequently 
Evans wrote an elaborate history of Oregon and 
Washington, entitled "History of the Pacific 
Northwest," which was published in 1889. On 
page 243 of volume i of this history Evans says 
that September i, 1867, Shortess wrote an auto- 
graph letter to Evans that Shortess originally 
drew up notes or a summary of the subjects he in- 
tended to embrace in the petition. That Shortess 
requested Abernethy "to write it in proper form, 
which he did, but refused to sign it or allow it to 
be circulated in his handwriting, fearing it might 
injure the mission. I had it copied by A. E. Wil- 
son. It was circulated and, through his assistance, 
sent to Washington." 

Shortess arrived in the Willamette Valley in 

'^ See Document N. 



212 Dr. John McLoughlin 

April, 1840. He afterwards took up a land claim 
near Upper Astoria. He sold his claim and be- 
came a recluse. He died in 1877. Some time 
after he signed the Shortess petition he appears 
to have changed his opinions of the Hudson's Bay- 
Company, and especially of the Methodist mis- 
sionaries. He wrote a document about his trip to 
Oregon which he gave to Mr. William Chance. 
The latter gave this document to the Oregon Pio- 
neer Association. It is published in full in the 
Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association 
for 1896, pp. 92-107. It is a very interesting docu- 
ment. In it he refers to the Methodist mission- 
aries in terms which, at least, are not complimen- 
tary. 

DOCUMENT I 

Ricord's Proclamation; letters of A. Lawrence 
Lovejoy and Rev. A. F. Waller of March 20, 
1844; Ricord's Caveat; invalidity of Waller's 
claim to Dr. McLoughlin's land; and excerpts 
from letters of Rev. Jason Lee to Rev. A. F. 
Waller and Rev. Gustavus Hines, written in 
1844. 

The following is a copy of a proclamation dated 
December 20, 1843, and issued by John Ricord, 
as attorney for Rev. Alvin F. Waller. The origi- 
nal of this document in the handwriting of Ri- 
cord, and signed by him, pasted on cloth, is in 
the possession of the Oregon Historical Society. 
Said original was publicly posted at Oregon City 
by Waller after Ricord left for the Hawaiian Is- 



Illustrative Documents 213 

lands. It shows weather stains, but is perfectly 
legible. 

"To The People of Oregon. 

"Fellow Citizens, 
"Having been Retained professionally to establish 
the Claim of Mr. Alvin F. Waller to the Tract of 
Land on the East Bank of the Wallammette River, 
sometimes called the Wallammette Falls Settle- 
ment and sometimes Oregon City, I consider it a» 
duty to my Client and the public, to state briefly 
and concisely the several circumstances of his case, 
as they really exist, in order that his motives may 
not be impugned and his intentions misunderstood 
and misrepresented. 

"The public are already aware that my client 
commenced the Occupancy of his Farm, in the 
spring of A. D. 1840, when no one resided at the 
falls; and that, in the course of that Summer, he 
built his Home, moved his family into it, and 
cleared and fenced a good portion of the Land, 
from which, in the ensuing years A. D. 1841 & 
1842 he raised successive crops of corn. Potatoes 
and other vegetables usually cultivated by Farm- 
ers. That he remained thus occupying undis- 
turbed, until the month of December A. D. 1842, 
about two years and six months, when Doctor 
McLoughlin caused his Farm to be surveyed, for 
the purpose of selling it in subdivisions to Ameri- 
can Citizens. It has since been currently reported 
and quite generally believed, that my client had 
renounced his right in favor of Doctor McLough- 
lin. This I am authorized to contradict, having 
perused the letter written by Mr. Waller, which 



214 Dr. John McLoughlin 

not only contains no renunciation, but on the con- 
trary, is replete with modest and firm assertions 
of his rights in the premises : offering at the same 
time to relinquish his claim, if the Doctor would 
comply with certain very reasonable and just con- 
ditions. Upon this offer, the parties had come to 
no final conclusion, until my arrival in the Col- 
ony, when Doctor McLoughlin attempted to em- 
ploy me to establish his claim, disregarding the 
rights of all other persons - which, I declined do- 
ing. Mr. Waller thereupon engaged me to sub- 
mit the conditions a second time to the Doctor, for 
his acceptance or rejection; which I did in the fol- 
lowing words: 

"ist. That your preemptive line be so run as 
to exclude the Island upon which a private Com- 
pany of Citizens have already erected a Grist Mill 
- conceding to them so much water as may be 
necessary for the use of said Mill. 

"2d. That Mr. Waller be secured in the ulti- 
mate Title to the two city Lots now in his posses- 
sion and other lots not exceeding in superficial 
area five Acres, to be chosen by him from among 
the unsold lots of your present Survey. 

"3d. That the Rev. Mr. Lee on behalf of the 
Methodist Episcopal Mission, be in like manner se- 
cured in the lots claimed for the use of said Mis- 
sion. They consist of Church and Parsonage 
lots and are well known to the public. 

"I received a letter from Dr. McLoughlin dated 
loth Novr. 1843, i" answer to mine, in which he 
declines complying with the above Conditions, 
and thus puts an end to the offer of my Client to 
relinquish his right of Preemption. Under these 



Illustrative Documents 215 



circumstances Mr. Waller has now applied to the 
Supreme Court of the United States, which, under 
the Constitution has original jurisdiction of "all 
cases in Law & Equity, arising under Treaties," 
to grant him a Commission for perpetuating the 
testimony of the facts in his case, de bene esse, in 
order that, whenever Congress shall hereafter see 
fit to prescribe by law the conditions and Consid- 
erations, he may be enabled to demand of the 
United States, a Patent; also praying the Court 
to grant him such other relief in the premises as 
may be consonant with Equity and good con- 
science. 

"The Legality of Mr. Waller's claim rests upon 
the following Grounds: - 

"ist. He was a citizen of the United States of 
full age and possessed of a family when he first 
came to reside on the premises. 2d. He built a 
House upon them and moved his family into it; 
thus becoming in Fact and in Law a Householder 
on the land. 3d. He cleared, fenced and culti- 
vated a portion of it during two years and six 
months, before he was disturbed in his actual pos- 
session. And 4th. That he is not at this moment 
continuing the cultivation of his Farm, is not his 
fault since it was wrested from him. 

"The Illegality of Doctor McLoughlin's Claim 
rests upon the following Grounds : - 

"ist. He is a British Subject, owing allegiance 
to a Foreign Power, and has so continued to be 
ever since the Spring of A. D. 1840. For this 
reason alone he could not acquire preemption to 
lands in the United States. 

"2d. He is the Chief Officer of a Foreic^n Cor- 



2i6 Dr. John McLoughlin 

porate Monopoly. For this reason alone he could 
not acquire preemption to lands in the United 
States. 

"3d. He does not now and never did reside on 
the land in question, but on the contrary, he re- 
sides and has always continued to reside on the 
North side of the Columbia River, the Section of 
country actually in dispute between the two Gov- 
ernments, about Twenty miles from the land 
claimed by Mr. Waller, and there he is obliged to 
remain, so long as he continues to be Chief 
Factor. 

"4th. He is not in fact the Claimant. The 
Hudson's Bay Company, a Foreign Corporation, 
is in fact the Claimant while Doctor McLough- 
lin only lends his name ; well knowing, that a Cor- 
poration even though it be an American one, can 
not acquire a preemption. This is evinced by the 
employment of men to be his Agents and to sell 
lots for him, who are at the same time partners in 
and receiving dividends and Salaries from the 
Company. 

"5th. The pretentions of Doctor McLoughlin 
arose, if at all, two years and six months after the 
actual Settlement of Mr. Waller; and therefore 
they are in direct violation of the Treaty of A. D. 
1827: Converting the mutual and joint occupancy 
into an exclusive occupancy by British subjects. 

"6th. The Treaty of joint occupancy [1827] 
does not and was never intended on the part of the 
United States, to confer any rights of citizenship 
upon Foreigners. The Power to confer such 



Illustrative Documents 217 



rights is by the Constitution reserved to Congress. 
And the right to acquire title by preemption is pe- 
culiar to citizens. 

''Those fellow citizens are the Facts and some of 
the Points of Law in my client's case. Upon the 
same principle contended for by Dr. McLoughlin, 
any of you may incur the risk of being ousted from 
your Farms in this Colony, by the next rich for- 
eigner who chooses to take a fancy so to do, unless 
in the first instance, you come unanimously for- 
ward and resist these usurpations. It is not my 
client's intention to wrong any who have purchased 
Lots of the Doctor, and to guard against the in- 
jury which might result to individuals in this re- 
spect, I have carefully drawn up the Form of a 
Bond for a Warantee Deed, which Mr. Waller 
is at all times ready, without any further consider- 
ation, to execute to any person who has, in good 
faith, bought of the Doctor, prior to the date of 
this notice, by being applied to at his residence. 
Mr. Waller does not require one cent of money to 
be paid to him as a Consideration for his Bonds - 
the trouble, expense and outlays they have already 
incurred, with the desire to save all such persons 
harmless from pecuniary loss, is a good and suffi- 
cient Consideration in Law to bind him in the pro- 
posed penalty of One Thousand Dollars. See 
Comyns. Digest, Assumpsit B. 

"I am of opinion that Mr. Waller has rights in 
the premises, which neither Doctor McLoughlin 
nor even Congress by any retrospective legislation 
can take away from him; -and therefore, fellow 



2i8 Dr. John McLoughlin 

citizens, in sincere friendship, I would counsel you 
to lose no time in applying to him for your new 
Bonds. 

"John Ricord," 

"Counsellor in the Supreme Court of 
the United States and Attorney 
for Alvin F. Waller." 
"Dated 20th December, 1843." 
The following two letters from A. L. Lovejoy 
to A. F. Waller and from Waller to Lovejoy, each 
dated March 20, 1844, are in reference to the fore- 
going proclamation by Ricord as attorney for 
Waller. These letters are in the handwriting of 
Lovejoy and Waller, respectively. The letter of 
Waller is shown by the line below Waller's sig- 
nature to be a copy which he made and kept to 
show what he had written. These letters are in 
the possession of the Oregon Historical Society. 
They were among Waller's private papers at the 
time of his death. 

"Wallamette Falls 20 Mar. 1844." 
"To the 

"Revd. A. F. Waller - 
"I have been directed by Dr. McLoughlin to 
make some enquiries of you in relation to a letter 
which appears to have been written by yourself to 
him relative to his claim. Dr. McLoughlin ob- 
serves in your notice to the People of Oregon 
words like the following:: 

" 'It has since been currently reported and quite 
generally believed that my client had renounced 
his right in favor of Dr. McLoughlin. This I am 
authorized to contradict having perused the let- 



Illustrative Documents 219 



ter written by Mr. Waller which not only con- 
tains no renunciation but on the contrary is re- 
plete with modest and firm assertions of his rights 
in the premises.' 

"Please have the kindness to say whether you 
wrote such a letter as there referred to and if so. 
As Dr. McLoughlin has never received anything 
of the kind allow him through me to solicit a copy 
thereof and much oblige. 

"I am Revd. Sir, 
"Your humble and obt. servant, 
"A. Lawrence Lovejoy." 

"Willamette Falls, 20 Mar. 1844." 
"Mr. Lovejoy. 

"Dear Sir: 
"The letter referred to in the Notice was one 
written to Rev. J. Lee in answer to one he wrote 
me. I think I have never written a line to Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin on any subject. Mr. Lee I presume has 
the letter with him. 
"I am yours truly, 

"A. F. Waller." 

"Copy of a reply to the within." 

The following copy and statement of John 
Ricord's caveat or notice as attorney for Rev. Al- 
vin F. Waller to Dr. McLoughlin is taken from 
Mrs. Frances Fuller Victor's volume, The River of 
the Westj page 358: "'You will please to take 
notice that my client, Mr. A. F. Waller, has taken 
formal measures at Washington to substantiate his 
claim as a preemptor and actual settler upon the 
tract of land, sometimes called the Wallamet Falls 
settlement and sometimes Oregon City, compris- 



220 Dr. John McLoughlin 

ing six hundred and forty acres; and being aware 
that, although a foreigner, you claim to exercise 
acts of ownership over said land, this notice is 
given to apprise you that all sales you may make of 
lots or other subdivisions of said farm, after the 
receipt hereof, will be regarded by my client, and 
by the government, as absolutely fraudulent, and 
will be made at your peril.' " 

Then followed the grounds upon which the 
Doctor's claim was denied. "First, that he was an 
alien; Secondly, that he was the chief of a foreign 
corporate monopoly; Thirdly, that he had not re- 
sided upon the land in question for a year pre- 
vious; Fourthly, that he did not hold the land for 
himself but the Company; Fifthly, that his claim, 
if he had any, arose two years subsequent to Mr. 
Waller's settlement thereon. This flattering docu- 
ment closed with Mr. Ricord's regrets that he had 
'failed to make an amicable compromise' of the 
matter between the Doctor and his client, and also 
that his 'client had been driven to the vexatious 
proceedings of the law^, in order to establish his 
rights as an American citizen.' " This caveat or 
notice was served on Dr. McLoughlin in 1844 
prior to April 4, after Ricord left Oregon for the 
Sandwich Islands. 

The attempt of Rev. A. F. Waller to assert any 
right to, or to procure the land claim of Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin, or any part of it, at Oregon City, under 
the law relating to pre-empting lands was absurd 
as well as invalid. Under the act of Congress of 
September 4, 1841, then in force, relating to the 
pre-emption of public lands of the United States, it 



Illustrative Documents 221 

was necessary that the lands should be a part of 
the public lands of the United States. The Con- 
ventions of joint-occupancy were then in force and 
neither Great Britain nor the United States exer- 
cised jurisdiction over the lands in the Oregon 
Country. 

In addition to other requisites of the pre-emption 
law, no person could pre-empt more than one hun- 
dred and sixty acres, and the law required the in- 
tending pre-emptor "to enter with the Register of 
the Land-Office for the district in which such land 
lies, by legal subdivisions, any number of acres 
not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a quarter- 
section of land," etc. 

There was no United States land district in Ore- 
gon nor any Register of any United States land- 
office. There had been no public surveys of land 
in Oregon. No lands could be legally pre-empted 
which had not been officially surveyed by authority 
of the United States.^^ 

In the case of Lytle v. State of Arkansas, 9 
Howard (U. S. Supreme Court) 314, it was held, 
concerning a claim to pre-emption, that "until sanc- 
tioned by law, it has no existence as a substantive 
right." In the case of Brown v. Coursen, 16 
Oregon, 388, it was held that a pre-emption is a 
right derived wholly from statute and a substantial 
compliance with the statute is necessary; and the 
condition must exist which would enable the pre- 
emptor to acquire the land under the statute. In 



'^Bernard's Heirs v, Ashley's Heirs, i8 Howard (U. S. Supreme 
Court) 43; Hot Spring Cases, 2 Otto (U. S. Supreme Court) 698, 
706. 



222 Dr. John McLoughlin 

the case of Stark v. Starrs, 6 Wallace (U. S. Su- 
preme Court) 402, it was held that even the act of 
August 14, 1848, organizing the Territory of Ore- 
gon, did not extend over Oregon any portion of 
the preemption act of September 4, 1841. 

Ricord and Rev. Jason Lee sailed on the same 
vessel from the Columbia River bound to the Ha- 
w^aiian Islands. They left Oregon City January 
4, but did not cross the Columbia River bar until 
February 3, 1844. Ricord did not intend to return 
to Oregon. He made his home at the Hawaiian 
Islands (then called Sandwich Islands) and died 
there. Rev. Jason Lee intended merely to make a 
trip to the Eastern States and return to Oregon. 
He wished to see the Missionary Board in New 
York. He also wished to go to Washington to see 
about land matters, particularly those which the 
Methodist Mission wished to obtain the title to. 
When he arrived at Honolulu he first learned that 
he had been removed as Superintendent of the Ore- 
gon Mission, and that Rev. George Gary was on 
his way to take charge. February 28, 1844, Rev. 
Jason Lee sailed on a small schooner called the 
"Hoaikaika" for Mazatlan, Mexico.^^ After his 
arrival at Mazatlan, Jason Lee crossed Mexico. 
He arrived in New York May 27, 1844. In June 
he went to Washington. On his return to New 
York he appeared before the Missionary Board 
for several days, beginning with July i, 1844, and 
submitted his oral report on the Oregon Mission. 

As relating to land claims in Oregon, I make the 
following excerpts from two letters written by 

•* Rev. Gustavus Hines, History of Oregon, Chapter x. 



Illustrative Documents 223 

Rev. Jason Lee after leaving Oregon. The orig- 
inals of these letters are in the possession of the 
Oregon Historical Society. The first of these let- 
ters was written on board the schooner Hoaikaika, 
March 23, 1844, to Rev. A. F. Waller. In this let- 
ter Jason Lee says: "I paid Mr. Ricord Two 
hundred and Fifty dollars for you and shall in- 
close your order to Bro. Abernethy. . . . What 
the result of your land claim will be, of course, I 
can form no better opinion than when I left. But 
I have less hopes of effecting anything for the Mis- 
sion more than to prepare the way for something 
to be done at the proper stage, that is, whenever 
the Government shall be prepared to grant title. 
. . . I long to hear how you are getting on with 
Dr. &c., and how the good cause is prosper- 
ing. May the Lord bless all who have embraced 
his cause and keep them unto 'that day.' " 

The second of these letters is to Rev. Gustavus 
Hines. It is dated at New York July i, 1844, and 
written after the return of Rev. Jason Lee from 
Washington. He wrote : "Met a favorable recep- 
tion there [Washington] and there is every reason 
to expect that the land claimed will be cheerfully 
accorded to us. . . . Please tell Bro. Waller 
that his claim is filed in the Office of the Commis- 
sioner General of the land office. This will prob- 
ably secure his claim, though the Supreme Court 
will probably take no action till an Oregon Bill 
passes." Waller, however, had "surrendered" all 
his rights in "his" (the McLoughlin) "land 
claim" April 4, 1844.^^ 

■* See Document J. 



224 Dr. John McLoughlin 



DOCUMENT J 

Agreement between Dr. John McLoughlin, Rev. 
A. F. Waller, and Rev. David Leslie, of April 
4, 1844; statement of cause and manner of mak- 
ing said agreement. 

The following agreement is in the possession of 
the Oregon Historical Society. It was among the 
private papers of Rev. A. F. Waller at the time of 
his death. This instrument is certified to be a true 
copy of the original by W. W. Raymond, one of 
the lay Methodist missionaries. Apparently there 
was but one original of this instrument, although 
executed by Dr. McLoughlin, Rev. Alvan F. Wal- 
ler and Rev. David Leslie, and therefore a copy 
was made of the same and certified by Raymond 
for Waller's use. 

ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT 

"Article of Agreement made and entered into 
this fourth day of April A. D. 1844 between John 
McLoughlin and Alvan F. Waller both of Oregon 
City in the Territory of Oregon : 

"Whereas certain conflicting claims to a tract of 
land situated at the Falls of the Wallamette River 
on the east side of said River containing six [hun- 
dred] and forty acres and surveyed by Jesse Ap- 
plegate in the month of December A. D. 1843 have 
existed between the aforesaid parties and the said 
parties are now willing and desirous to arrange all 
differences existing between them in regard to the 
same; 

"It is therefore agreed as follows: The said Al- 



Illustrative Documents 11 S 

van F. Waller agrees to surrender make over and 
forever abandon unto the said John McLoughlin 
his heirs administrators and assigns and in his 
favor, all claims rights and pretensions whatsoever 
which he now has within or to the said above men- 
tioned Tract or survey of land or any part thereof. 
The said Waller further agrees to withdraw any 
proceedings which he or his attorney may have 
commenced in any of the courts of the United 
States touching the said tract or survey of land and 
to abstain from at any future time instituting any 
proceedings to secure to himself the title of the said 
tract or survey of land in opposition to the said 
McLoughlin or to his detriment in any way what- 
soever, or to sell or otherwise dispose of to any 
person whatsoever other than the said McLough- 
lin any claim or right which he the said Waller 
may have in the same. 

"And the said John McLoughlin agrees in con- 
sideration of the above mentioned acts and agree- 
ments on the part of the said Alvan F. Waller to 
pay to the said Waller the sum of five hundred dol- 
lars and further to convey to the said Waller the 
premises now occupied by him being lots number 
two and seven in Blocks number one in Oregon 
City in said survey -also the entire Blocks num- 
bers fifty four, forty one and eighteen and lots 
one, two, three, six, seven, and eight in Block num- 
ber eleven all included in the plot Oregon City 
aforesaid; and the said John McLoughlin further 
agrees to give to said Alvan F. Waller his Bond 
conditioned for a good and sufficient Warrantee 
Deed to all the above specified premises. 

"And the said John McLoughlin further agrees 



22 6 Dr. John McLoughlin 

to convey to David Leslie now acting superinten- 
dent of the Oregon Methodist Episcopal Mission 
lots three, four, five and six in Block number one 
and also lots numbers four and five in Block twenty 
eight and also the entire Block number twenty 
nine on the plot of Oregon City aforesaid; and the 
said John McLoughlin further agrees to give to 
the said David Leslie his Bond conditioned for a 
good and sufficient warrantee deed accordingly to 
all the above specified premises. 

"Signed with our names and sealed with our 
seals this day and year first above mentioned. 

"John McLoughlin'V \ 
"Alvan F. Waller" Jl. s.i 
"David Leslie" ) j 

"Witnesses" 

"James Douglas" 
"Elijah White" 
"A. L. Lovejoy" 
"W. Gilpin." 
"True Copy of the original. 
"Attest: W. W. Raymond. 

"Wallamette Falls July 24, 1844." 

A copy of the bond, dated April 4, 1844, given 
by Dr. John McLoughlin to Rev. A. F. Waller, as 
provided in said Articles of Agreement of the same 
date, is in the possession of the Oregon Historical 
Society. It is also certified to be a true copy by 
said W. W. Raymond. This certified copy was, 
also, among the private papers of Rev. A. F. Wal- 
ler at the time of his death. 

Frances Fuller Victor, who had access to orig- 



Illustrative Documents 227 



inal documents, says that the reasons why the agree- 
ment set forth in this Document J, came to be en- 
tered into are as follows: In April, 1844, Dr. 
Elijah White suggested that the differences be- 
tween Dr. McLoughlin and A. F. Waller about 
the Oregon City land claim might be settled by 
arbitration. Dr. McLoughlin finally consented to 
this plan. The arbitrators chosen were Dr. Elijah 
White, Major Gilpin, and James Douglas, on the 
side of Dr. McLoughlin, and Revs. David Leslie 
and A. F. Waller on the side of Waller and the 
Methodist Mission. All the arbitrators, except 
Douglas, were citizens of the United States. 
Major Gilpin had attended West Point and had 
been an officer in the regular army of the United 
States. He came to Oregon with Fremont's expe- 
dition. Rev. David Leslie was then the acting 
Superintendent of the Methodist Mission. 

Waller insisted that he should receive five hun- 
dred dollars and five acres for himself and the 
Methodist Mission should receive fourteen lots. 
White and Gilpin considered this exorbitant and 
opposed it. They were finally persuaded by 
Douglas to agree to Waller's terms. Douglas said 
to Dr. McLoughlin, "I thought it best to give you 
one fever and have done with it. I have acceded 
to the terms and signed the papers." ^^ 

While Dr. McLoughlin signed these agree- 
ments and executed these bonds and carried them 
out as far as he was able to, he was not pleased 
with being compelled to accede to these demands, 

*" Mrs. Frances F. Victor, The River of the West, pp. 359, 360; 
History of Oregon, Bancroft's Works, Vol. i, p. 223. 



22 8 Dr. John McLoughlin 

which he considered unjust. If Waller, either for 
himself alone or for himself and the Methodist 
Mission, were entitled to the 640 acres of Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin's land claim. Waller and it should have 
insisted on having the whole claim. The propo- 
sition of Waller to accept $500 and five acres of 
land and for Dr. McLoughlin to give the Mission 
fourteen lots shows that in the minds of Waller 
and the Mission his and its claims were, to say the 
least, very dubious ones. Dr. McLoughlin could 
but consider that he had been forced to comply 
with these demands, not as a question of right, but 
as a question of expediency and to get rid of these 
false claims. 

DOCUMENT K 

Statement of the career in Oregon of Judge W . P. 

Bryant. 

I have been unable to learn much about Judge 
W. P. Bryant, except his actions in connection 
with Abernethy Island and against Dr. McLough- 
lin. To his Biennial Report of 1899 (page 190) 
Hon. H. R. Kincaid, as Secretary of State for Ore- 
gon, added an Appendix giving short biographies 
of the Chief Justices of Oregon and of other Ore- 
gon officials. Of Judge Bryant the Secretary of 
State said only: "There are no official records in 
the Department of State to show when Mr. Bryant 
assumed the duties of his office nor for what pe- 
riod he served. The decisions of the Supreme 
Court at the time when he served were not re- 
ported. Mr. Bryant was appointed by the Presi- 



Illustrative Documents 229 

dent from some eastern state and only served here 
a short time when he again returned east" 

In the History of Oregon in Bancroft's Works, 
it is said: That Judge Bryant's home was in Indi- 
ana; that he was appointed Chief Justice of Ore- 
gon in August, 1848, and arrived in Oregon April 
9, 1849; that he resigned as Chief Justice Janu- 
ary I, 1 85 1, having spent but five months in Ore- 
gon; that upon his resignation he returned to Indi- 
ana, where he soon died. 



DOCUMENT L 

Letter of Dr. John McLoughlin, published in the 

'^Oregon Spectator,'' Thursday, September 12, 

1850. 
"Mr. Editor: 

"In the Congressional Globe of May 30th, 1850, 
is the following language of Mr. Thurston, the 
Delegate from Oregon, to which I wish to invite 
the attention of the public. 

" 'And as to the humbug about the Hudson's Bay 
Company, mentioned by the gentleman from Mis- 
souri [Mr. Bowlin], I have to say that I know of 
no humbug about it; this Company has been war- 
ring against our Government for these forty years. 
Dr. McLoughlin has been the chief fugleman, first 
to cheat our Government, out of the whole coun- 
try, and next to prevent its settlement. He has 
driven men from their claims, and from the coun- 
try, to stifle its efforts at settlement. In 1845 he 
sent an express to Fort Hall, eight hundred miles. 



230 Dr. John McLoughlin 



to warn the emigrants, if they attempted to come to 
the Willamette, they would all be cut off; they 
went and none were cut off. How, sir, would you 
reward Benedict Arnold, were he living; he 
fought the battles of the country, yet, by one act 
of treason, forfeited the respect of that country. A 
bill for his relief would fail, I am sure; yet this 
Bill proposes to reward those who are now, have 
been, and ever will be, more hostile to our country, 
because more Jesuitical." 

"What Mr. Thurston means by 'warring against 
our government for these forty years,' I know not. 
I am certain, however, that the H. B. Co. had a 
right to carry on trade under the treaty of joint 
occupation of the country - even were we to look 
no farther for another foundation of the right. I 
am sure, moreover, that the business of the Com- 
pany was so managed as to bear the strictest scru- 
tiny, and to be in all respects subservient to the 
best interests of the country, and the duties of reli- 
gion and humanity. The government and policy 
of the Company were such as to render traveling 
safe, and the Indians were friendly to whites. 
.When the Hudson's Bay Company first began to 
trade with these Indians they were so hostile to 
the whites that they had to mount guard day and 
*night at the establishment, have sentinels at the 
gates to prevent any Indian entering, unless to 
trade, and when they entered, to take their arms 
from them. The Columbia could not be traveled 
in parties of less than sixty well armed men ; but, 
by the management of the Company, they were 
brought to that friendly disposition that two men, 



Illustrative Documents 231 

for several years back, can travel in safety between 
this and Fort Hall. 

"Mr. Thurston is pleased to describe me as 
'chief fugleman to the Hudson's Bay Company.' 
This is a term which he probably gathered from 
the vocabulary in which he found the word 'gump- 
tion,' with which he recently garnished another 
dish, and which he seems to have prepared for 
appetites similar to his own. By the use of this, 
and such like epithets it will at once be seen that he 
has a field of literature which he is likely to occupy 
without a rival, and the exclusive possession of 
which no one will deny him. Neither my princi- 
ples nor my tastes lead me in that direction. But 
I am described as a 'fugleman' of the Hudson's 
Bay Company; first to cheat our Government out 
of the whole country, and next to prevent its settle- 
ment. I am an old man, and my head is very white 
with the frost of many winters, but I have never 
before been accused as a cheat. I was born a Brit- 
ish subject - I have had for twenty years the super- 
intendence of the Hudson's Bay Company's trade, 
in Oregon, and on the North West Coast; and may 
be said to have been the representative of British 
interests in this country; but I have never de- 
scended to court popularity, by pandering to prej- 
udice, and doing wrong to anyone. I have, on the 
other hand, afforded every assistance to all who 
required it, and which religion and humanity dic- 
tated; and this community can say if I did so or 
not. My language to all who spoke to me on the 
subject of politics, was that situated as we were 
we ought to say nothing about the boundary ques- 



232 Dr. John McLoughlin 

tion, as that was an affair of the Government; bur 
to live as Christians in peace and concord, and in 
acting as I did I consider that I have rendered 
services to the British and American Governments. 
But if I had acted differently, the Government 
would have had difficulties, and this community 
would perhaps not have enjoyed the peace it has, 
nor be in so prosperous a condition as it is, and cer- 
tainly there is not a man in it who will say that I 
have sought to prevent its settlement. There are, 
in this Valley, very many persons, and especially 
among the earliest immigrants, of the first 3^ears of 
the settlement of the country, who are sufficiently 
honest to admit that the country could never have 
been colonized as easily as it was, but for the 
timely, ample, and continuous assistance rendered 
by me, to them, with the means of the Hudson's 
Bay Company under my charge. Provisions were 
sent to meet the immigrants - boats were dis- 
patched to convey them down the Columbia, - 
when arrived on their claims, cattle were loaned 
them - they were supplied with clothing, food, 
farming utensils, and wheat for seed. Very many 
of these men honorably paid, as soon as they could; 
others, though able to pay, and though their notes 
have been standing for many years, testify their 
sense of the number and magnitude of my favors 
by signing a secret Memorial to the Congress of 
the United States, to take from me my property, 
and to leave me in the decline of life, and in the 
decrepitude of old age, to the companionship of 
adders, who - when they were benumbed with 
frost, I gathered from the hedges and warmed 



Illustrative Documents i^:!^ 

into life, to feel, when alas! too late, the stings of 
their ingratitude. 

"For additional proof, in repelling these cal- 
umnies, I could refer to many sources: Wilkes' 
Journal, Fremont's Narrative, to American trav- 
elers and writers, and to letters from many and 
many an immigrant to this country, and now resi- 
dents in this valley, stating to their friends in the 
States the kindness I had shewn them, and who, I 
am sure, would acknowledge it, and are as much 
surprised at the charge brought against me as I am 
myself. But, moreover, it is well known that the 
fact of my having aided in the settlement of this 
country has been a subject of serious complaints, 
and grave charges made against me, by subjects of 
Her Britannic Majesty, during the pending of the 
boundary question - who seem to have been im- 
bued with the same kind disposition toward their 
fellow men as Mr. Thurston. 

"Mr. Thurston says, Tn 1845 he [Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin] sent an express to Fort Hall, eight 
hundred miles, to warn the immigration that if 
they attempted to come to the Willamette, they 
would be all cut off.' This is a calumny as gratui- 
tous as it is unprovoked; but it is with mingled 
emotions of astonishment and indignation that I 
have accidentally become acquainted with the con- 
tents of another document, entitled a 'Letter of the 
Delegate from Oregon to the members of the 
House of Representatives, in behalf of his constit- 
uents touching the Oregon Land Bill.' On the 
back of the only copy sent, is written in the hand- 
writing of Mr. Thurston - 'Keep this still till next 



234 Dr. John McLoughlin 

mail, when I shall send them generally. The de- 
bate on the California Bill closes next Tuesday, 
when I hope to get it and passed -my land bill; 
keep dark till next mail. 

" Thurston.' " 

"'June 9, 1850.'" 

"In the paragraph already quoted from the 
Globe of June 30, Mr. Thurston affirms that I am 
a more dangerous man than Benedict Arnold was; 
because, as he states, I am more 'Jesuitical.' Web- 
ster, the celebrated American Lexicographer, de- 
fines Jesuitism thus: 'Cunning, deceit, prevarica- 
tion, deceptive practices'- yet this same man, Mr. 
Thurston, who bestows epithets upon me without 
stint and beyond measure; who accuses me of be- 
ing 'Jesuitical,' and who occupies the situation of a 
grave legislator, admits that his measures will not 
bear the light of truth, and he requires his friend 
to keep still, until he shall complete the perpe- 
tration of a deed of wickedness. Is this not the 
cunning of the fox? who prowls around in the 
darkness, that he may rob the hen-roost of the 
farmer while he is sleeping, without a suspicion of 
a meditated evil. Is not the sending of such a doc- 
ument, with the request written upon it to keep 
'dark,' a deceptive practice, within the very letter 
and meaning of Webster's definition of Jesuitism? 
Mr. Thurston, it appears, was afraid of the light 
of facts, which he did not desire to have commu- 
nicated to the Government at Washington, before 
he completed an act of contemplated wrong doing. 

"In the letter referred to, speaking of Oregon 
City, he says, 'The Methodist Mission first took the 



Illustrative Documents 12S 

claim with the view of establishing here their 
Mills and Mission - they were forced to leave it 
under the fear of having the savages of Oregon let 
loose upon them.' This charge is likewise without 
a fraction of truth, as a few facts will demonstrate. 
In 1829, I commenced making preparations at the 
falls of the Willamette, for building a sawmill. I 
had a party residing there during the winter of 
1829 and 1830. This party, in my employment, 
and paid with my money, built three houses, and 
prepared the timber for the erection of a mill. 
Circumstances rendered the suspension of the mill 
for a while necessary. In the spring of 1830 I 
commenced cultivating the ground at the Falls. 
In the year 1832 I had a mill race blasted out of 
the rocks, from near the head of the island which 
Mr. Thurston calls Abernethy Island -but Mr. 
Thurston found it convenient to conceal from the 
United States Government that Mr. Abernethy 
and others purchased the island from F. Hatha- 
way, who jumped the island in the first instance, 
and that Judge Bryant and Gov. Lane finally pur- 
chased whatever right Mr. Abernethy had ac- 
quired. The Indians having burnt in 1829 the 
timber which during that same year had been pre- 
pared for the erection of the mill, I had, in the 
summer of 1838, another house built at the Falls; 
during the same year I had squared timber pre- 
pared and hauled to the place at which I had or- 
iginally proposed to erect a mill; the erection of 
the mill was again postponed. In 1840 the Rev. 
Jason Lee, superintendent of the Methodist Mis- 
sion in Oregon, applied to me for the loan of some 



i^S Dr. John McLoughlin 

of the above mentioned timber, for the purpose of 
erecting a Mission building. To this request I 
assented, and at the same time sent Dr. F. W. Tol- 
mie to point out to the Rev. Mr. Lee the spot upon 
which he might build. Up to this time, it should 
be observed that no effort had been made to inter- 
fere with my claim, and no one called in question 
my perfect right to make it. It should be borne 
in mind, too, that I commenced improving in 
1829, and that the missionaries did not come here 
till 1834. To prevent, however, any future mis- 
understanding, growing out of any occupancy of 
sufferance, I handed Mr. Lee a letter, dated Van- 
couver, 2ist July, 1840, in which I described the 
extent of my claim, as embracing 'the upper end 
of the Falls, across to the Clackamas Falls, in the 
Willamette, including the whole point of land and 
the small Island in the falls, on which the portage 
is made and which I intend to claim when the 
boundary line is drawn/ The words italicised are 
not so in the original. I now do this to call atten- 
tion to them. Up to this time no one but myself 
claimed the island. Mr. Lee promised to return 
the timber he procured to erect the building, with 
the wood thus loaned Mr. Waller and family, who 
were placed in it by Mr. Lee. I gave Mr. Lee 
permission to occupy, as a mission store room, a 
house I had got erected for myself. Up to 1841 
my claim to the island had never been interfered 
with; in this year Mr. Felix Hathaway put some 
logs on the island. I gave him notice of my claim, 
and erected a small house upon the island. Hath- 
away finally proceeded with his building. I did 



Illustrative Documents 237 

not forcibly eject him because I wished to preserve 
the peace of the country. In the autumn of 1842, 
I first heard that the Rev. Mr. Waller, as I was in- 
formed, set up a claim in conflict with mine, (not 
for the Mission, but in his own name.) I subse- 
quently bought off Mr. Waller, in the same anx- 
ious desire to preserve the peace. 

"In conclusion of this part of the subject I will 
remark that when Mr. Waller requested Capt. W. 
K. Kilbourn, who resides in this place, to assist 
him in putting up the logs which I had loaned to 
Mr. Lee, Capt. Kilbourn said to him: 'I will not 
assist to build the house, if you intend to set up any 
claim here.' Mr. Waller disavowed any such in- 
tention. 

"In 1842 I had the claim surveyed by Mr. Huds- 
path, and laid off some lots; in the fall of 1843, 
there being better instruments in the country, I had 
my claim surveyed by Jesse Applegate, Esq., who 
more accurately marked its streets, alleys, lots, etc., 
etc. When the Oregon Provisional Government 
was formed, I recorded my claim in accordance 
with the provisions of its organic laws; this record 
covers the island and the site of Oregon City. In 
making this record, I circumscribed the limits of 
my claim, so that instead of extending down to the 
Clackamas River, as I had made it previous to 
there being any government in the country, I made 
it so as to extend only about half way down. This 
I did because the Organic Law provided that no 
one should hold more than six hundred and forty 
acres. This I did also for the sake of peace, not- 
withstanding Mr. Thurston is not ashamed to 



238 Dr. John McLoughlin 



more than intimate a disposition to 'let loose upon 
them savages of Oregon.' Mr. Thurston says, 
*He has held it by violence and dint of threats up 
to this time.' - That I have held my claim or any 
part of it by violence or threats, no man will as- 
sert, and far less will one be found to swear so, who 
will be believed on his oath, in a court of justice. 
I have probably no other enemy than Mr. Thurs- 
ton, so lost to the suggestions of conscience as to 
make a statement so much at variance with my 
whole character. 

"He says that I have realized, up to the 4th of 
March, 1849, $200,000 from the sale of lots; this is 
also wholly untrue. I have given away lots to the 
Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Congrega- 
tionalists, and Baptists. I have given 8 lots to a 
Roman Catholic Nunnery, 8 lots to the Clackamas 
Female Protestant Seminary, incorporated by the 
Oregon Legislature. The Trustees are all Protes- 
tants, although it is well known I am a Roman 
Catholic. In short, in one way and another I have 
donated to the count}', to schools, to churches, and 
private individuals, more than three hundred town 
lots, and I never realized in cash $20,000, from all 
the original sales I have made. He continues, 
'He is still an Englishman, still connected with the 
Hudson's Bay Company, and refuses to file his in- 
tentions to become an American citizen.' If I was 
an Englishman, I know no reason why I should not 
acknowledge it; but I am a Canadian by birth, and 
an Irishman by descent. I am neither ashamed of 
my birth-place or lineage -but it has always ap- 
peared to me that a man who can only boast of his 
country has little to be proud of: 



Illustrative Documents 239 



" 'A wit's a feather, a chief, a rod - 

An honest man's the noblest work of God.' " 

"I was a Chief Factor in the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany's service, and by the rules of the Company, 
enjoy a retired interest, as a matter of right. - Capt. 
McNeil, a native born citizen of the United States 
of America, holds the same rank as I held in the 
Hudson's Bay Company service. He never was 
required to become a British subject; he will be en- 
titled, by the laws of the Company, to the same re- 
tired interest, no matter to what country he may 
owe allegiance. 

"I declared my intention to become an Ameri- 
can citizen on the 30th May, 1849, as any one may 
see who will examine the records of the court, in 
this place. Mr. Thurston knew this fact -he 
asked me for my vote and influence. Why did he 
ask me for my vote if I had not one to give? I 
voted and voted against him, as he well knew, and 
as he seems well to remember. But he proceeds 
to refer to Judge Bryant for the truth of his state- 
ment, in which he affirms that I assigned to Judge 
Bryant, as a reason why I still refuse to declare my 
intention to become an American citizen, that I 
cannot do it without prejudicing my standing in 
England. I am astonished how the Supreme 
Judge could have made such a statement! as he 
had a letter from me pointing out my intention of 
becoming an American citizen. The cause, which 
led to my writing this letter, is that the island, 
called Abernethy's Island by Mr. Thurston, and 
which he proposes to donate to Mr. Abernethy, his 
heirs and assigns, is the same island which Mr. 
Hathaway and others jumped in 1841, and formed 



240 Dr. John McLoughlin 



themselves into a joint stock company, and erected 
a saw and grist mill on it, as already stated. From 
a desire to preserve peace in the country, I deferred 
bringing the case to trial, till the government ex- 
tended its jurisdiction over the country; but when 
it had done so, a few days after the arrival of Judge 
Bryant and before the courts were organized, 
Judge Bryant bought the island of George Aber- 
nethy, Esq., who had bought the stock of the other 
associates, and as the Island was in Judge Bryant's 
district, and as there was only two judges in the 
Territory, I thought I could not at the time bring 
the case to a satisfactory decision. I therefore de- 
ferred bringing the case forward to a time when 
the bench would be full. In July or August, 1849, 
Gov. Lane told me Judge Bryant would speak to 
me in regard to my claim on the Island ; the Judge 
did so and asked me to state the extent of my claim. 
To avoid mistakes and misunderstandings, to 
which verbal communications are subject, I told 
him I would write him, and accordingly addressed 
him the following letter: 

"Oregon City, 21st Aug. 1849." 
"To the Hon. W. P. Bryant: 

"Sir- 
"I hasten to comply with your request, 'that I state 
the extent of my claim to the Island within ten 
days,' and I beg to refer you to the books of re- 
corded land claims, kept by Theo. McGruder, 
Esq., for the extent of my claim; and I shall expect 
a transfer of the fee simple of the whole ground, 
with all and every privilege from the United States 



Illustrative Documents 241 

of America, as soon as it shall meet the pleasure of 
my adopted government to act in the matter. 
"I have the honor to be 

"Your obedient humble servant, 
[Signed^ "John McLoughlin." 

"This letter w^as handed to Judge Bryant by J. 
D. Holman, Esq., and it seems quite incompre- 
hensible to me, how, after receiving and perusing 
this letter, Judge Bryant could corroborate (if he 
did so) Mr. Thurston's statement, that I had de- 
clined to file my intention to become an American 
citizen. I filed my intention on the 30th May. 
Mr. Thurston left this (Territory) in August, and 
Judge Bryant in October. Is it probable! nay, is 
it possible! in so small a place as Oregon City, 
where every little occurrence is so soon known - 
where the right of voting is so scrutinized - that I 
should have voted, and against Mr. Thurston, and 
that his partisans and supporters did not inform 
him of it, or that Judge Bryant did not know that 
I had filed my intention to become an American 
citizen? But Mr. Thurston makes another state- 
ment in which there is not more truth. He says, 
'Last summer he,' meaning myself, 'informed the 
writer of this that whatever was made out of the 
claim was to go to the common fund of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, of which he and other stock- 
holders would share in proportion to their stock; 
in other words, that he was holding this claim in 
trust for the Hudson's Bay Company.' 

"Mr. Thurston had just before said that I had 
made for myself $200,000 from the sale of lots ; but 



242 Dr. John McLoughlin 

now after having made my conservative purse 
vastly capacious finds it convenient to shrivel it up 
by transferring this cheering amount of coin to the 
coffers of the Hudson's Bay Company. I assert 
I never made such a statement to Mr. Thurston, 
and I assert that I hold my claim for myself alone, 
and that the Hudson's Bay Company, nor no other 
person or persons, hold or have any interest in it 
with me. 

"Mr. Thurston says that on the 4th March, 1849, 
Governor Lane apprised Dr. McLoughlin and all 
others that no one had a right to sell or meddle 
with government lands. This is given as a reason 
why every man that has bought a lot since that time 
shall lose it. If by this statement anything more is 
meant than at that date the Territorial government 
was put in operation, then it is wholly untrue; but 
were it otherwise, what is the motive for the com- 
mission of such an act of injustice that necessarily 
involves in pecuniary loss half the inhabitants of 
this place, in addition to many who do not reside 
here? Mr. Thurston says, Abernethy's Island is in 
the middle of the river. Such a statement could 
only be made to persons unacquainted with this 
place, and conveys a wrong impression, as every 
one who knows the place will admit the island is 
not in the middle of the river, but separated from 
the main land only by a chasm over which there is 
a bridge about 100 feet long. In the dry season, 
the stream is not more than forty feet broad at the 
Falls, which separates it from the main land, and 
can the people of Oregon City and its vicinity be- 
lieve Mr. Thurston did not know, some months 



Illustrative Documents 243 

before he left this, that Mr. Abernethy had sold 
his rights, whatever they were, to Judge Bryant, 
and therefore proposing to Congress to donate this 
Island to Mr. Abernethy, his heirs and assigns, was, 
in fact, proposing to donate it to Judge Bryant, his 
heirs and assigns. 

"JNO. MCLOUGHLIN." 
"[At the request of Dr. McLoughlin, we stepped 
into the Clerk's office and read upon a paper filed 
in the office that on the 30th day of May, 1849, 
John McLoughlin filed his intention to become an 
American citizen, and that the said paper was 
duly certified to, by the then acting Clerk, Geo. L. 
Curry. -Ed.]" 

DOCUMENT M 

Letter by William J. Berry, published in the 

'^Oregon Spectator" December 26, l8^0. 
"Forest Creek, Polk Co., December 15, 1850." 
"Mr. Editor: 

"Truth crush'd to earth, shall rise again : 
The eternal years of God are hers ; 
But error, wounded, withers with pain, 
And dies among his worshippers." 
"Believing that the characters of public men are 
public property, I desire, with your permission, to 
speak through the columns of the 'Spectator' about 
some of the doings of our Delegate in Congress. 

"I am dissatisfied with his course in regard to 
the 'Oregon City Claim.' And now permit me to 
say, that I am not influenced in this matter by mer- 
cenary motives of any kind. I never owned anv 



244 ■C)r. John McLoughlin 



property in or about Oregon City, nor do I ever 
expect to ; but I am influenced by motives of a cer- 
tain kind, which are: the veneration I feel for the 
sacred principles of truth and justice, - and the 
mortification I feel at seeing these principles not 
only overlooked, but indignantly trampled under 
foot. 

"Up to the time of writing his celebrated 'letter 
to the members of the House of Representatives,' 
I, in common with a large portion of the people 
here, was led to admire the ability, the zeal, and 
industry, with which Mr. Thurston conducted the 
business of this Territory. But in that portion of 
said letter, where he speaks of the Oregon City 
claim, I think he has placed himself in the posi- 
tion of the old cow, who, after giving a fine pail of 
milk, kicked it all over. With the disposal of said 
claim as contemplated in the bill, I have no fault 
to find; but with the means employed by Mr. 
Thurston to effect that end, I do find most serious 
fault. 

"Some of these I will notice. Speaking of Dr. 
McLoughlin, he says: 'He still refuses to file his 
intentions to become an American citizen.' Now, 
I assert that Mr. Thurston knew, previous to the 
election, that Dr. McLoughlin had filed his inten- 
tions. I heard him say in a stump speech, at the 
City Hotel, that he expected his (the Doctor's) 
vote. At the election I happened to be one of the 
Judges; Dr. McLoughlin came up to vote; the 
question was asked by myself, if he had filed his 
intentions? The Clerk of the Court, George L. 
Curry, Esq., who was standing near the window, 



Illustrative Documents 245 

said that he had. He voted. Some time after the 
election, when I was holding the office of Justice 
of the Peace, in Oregon City, Mr. Thurston came 
to me, in company with a man whose name I have 
forgotten, having an affidavit already prepared 
which he wished sworn to, and subscribed by this 
man ; which was done. Said affidavit went to state 
that Dr. McLoughlin had written a letter, or let- 
ters, to some French settlers north of the Columbia, 
directing them to oppose Thurston and vote for 
Lancaster, &c., &c. I merely mention this circum- 
stance to show that Mr. Thurston knew exactly 
how Dr. McLoughlin stood. The assertion of 
Mr. Thurston that Dr. McLoughlin has 'worked 
diligently to break down the settlements,' is also 
without foundation. There are scores of persons 
in this valley of the early emigrants, who testify to 
the kindness received at the hands of Dr. 
McLoughlin. And many there are who would 
doubtless have perished had it not been for his 
humane attention. He helped them to descend the 
Columbia -fed them, clothed them; and now he 
is accused of 'working diligently to break down the 
settlements!' 

"I shall notice but one more of Mr. Thurston's 
assertions in regard to this claim. Mr. Thurston 
says: 'The Methodist Mission first took this claim.' 
Now this is an assertion which any one who knows 
anything about the history of Oregon City, knows 
to be utterly without foundation. - On the contrary 
the said Methodist Mission never had a right to 
any part of said claim, unless jumping constitutes 
right. 



246 Dr. John McLoiighiin 

"In what I have said about Dr. McLoughlin, I 
have not spoken from interested motives. I never 
received any favor at his hands, nor do I expect to. 
But I am ashamed of the course of our Delegate; 
I think it is unbecoming the Representative of a 
magnanimous people. 

"What must be the feelings of Dr. McLoughlin? 
A man w^hose head is w^hitened by the frosts of per- 
haps eighty winters ! Who, during that long period 
has been living subject to the nation under whose 
flag he was born. And who, at that advanced age 
declares his intention of becoming a citizen of our 
great Republic. - I say what must be his feelings? 
and what must be the feelings of all candid men - 
of all men of honor and magnanimity, who have 
read Mr. Thurston's letter. And yet this same 
Honorable (?) Delegate in his address to his con- 
stituents lectures us upon Religion and Morality. 
"Very respectfully, yours, 

"Wm. J. Berry." 



DOCUMENT N 

Excerpts from speech of Samuel R. Thurston in 
Congress, December 26, l8§0. 

December 26, 1850, Thurston attempted to an- 
swer, by a speech in Congress, Dr. McLoughlin's 
letter, published in the Oregon Spectator, Septem- 
ber 12, 1850. It is a scurrilous speech. Most of 
its asserted statements of fact are untrue. It is too 
long to be set forth here in full. It will be found 
at pages 36 to 45 of the Appendix to volume 23 of 



Illustrative Documents 247 

the Congressional Globe. The italics in this Doc- 
ument N are those appearing in the Congressional 
Globe. 

He first discussed the petition of the fifty-six per- 
sons who signed the petition at Oregon City, Sep- 
tember 19, 1850, against the passage of the eleventh 
section of the Donation Land Bill, and attempted 
to show that the petition was against Dr. 
McLoughlin instead of being in his favor. This 
was pettifogging. Thurston set forth that he had 
not been in favor of recognizing in the bill trans- 
fers of land by Dr. McLoughlin after March 3, 
1849, for the reason that "If such transfers were 
confirmed in general terms, up to the passage of the 
bill, the whole of what the Doctor claimed would 
be covered by fictitious transfers for his benefit." 
Thurston attacked J. Quinn Thornton and Aaron 
E. Wait, the attorneys of Dr. McLoughlin, and 
called them names too vile to be inserted in this 
address. 

Referring to Dr. McLoughlin's statement in his 
letter that the Hudson's Bay Company's business 
was so managed "in all respects subservient to the 
best interests of the country, and the duties of reli- 
gion and humanity," Thurston said: "If to make 
the settler pay with his life the penalty of settling 
where they did not want him to, or to oppress him 
until he was compelled to yield; if tearing down 
houses over families' heads, and burning them up, 
and leaving a poor woman in the rain, houseless 
and homeless; if attempting to break down all 
American enterprises, and to prevent the settle- 
ment of the country- if, sir, to do all these things, 



248 Dr. John McLoughlin 

and many more, which are hereafter proved, then 
is the quotation true. If this is their religion, then 
have they adorned, for the last ten years, the reli- 
gion they profess." These charges are maliciously 
false. 

Thurston charged that Dr. McLoughlin was 
"for all practical purposes, as much in, of, and con- 
nected with the [Hudson's Bay] Company as he 
ever was . . . 3^et he comes up here with a 
hypocritical face and pleads poverty! and says that 
he has picked up my people out of ditches, mud- 
puddles, from under the ice, and warmed them 
into life ; which Wait and Thornton virtually tes- 
tify to. . . . Who ever heard a Jew or a Gypsy 
making up a more pitiful face than this." Thurs- 
ton further said that Dr. McLoughlin persuaded 
some of the immigrants of 1842 to go to Califor- 
nia; that he provided outfits for them "and took 
notes, payable in California. And this was done 
for the purpose of ridding the country of these un- 
welcome visitors. . . . That the Doctor was 
determined to do all he could to prevent the coun- 
try from finally settling up, and with this object 
in view, undertook to persuade our early settlers to 
leave." This is absolutely untrue, except the part 
that Dr. McLoughlin furnished said immigrants 
with outfits and took their notes payable in Cali- 
fornia. Most of these notes were never paid. 

Thurston then proceeds to pettifog about his in- 
junction to keep his letter to Congress about the 
Donation Land Bill "dark till next mail." He 
had to pettifog or say it was a forgery. He said 
he wrote this as he feared the bill "never would 



Illustrative Documents 249 

pass, and I dreaded the effect the news of its fail- 
ure, on the first day, would have on business of the 
territory. ... It was to avoid the general 
panic that I adopted this course and this is why I 
requested to have nothing said till the time of trial 
might come." ^^ Thurston was compelled to admit 
that he knew that Dr. McLoughlin had taken the 
oath of allegiance to the United States prior to the 
election in June, 1849, but Thurston said he did 
not know that Dr. McLoughlin had filed his in- 
tentions to become a citizen. Thurston endeav- 
ored to justify himself by technicalities. He knew 
that the Circuit Courts of the Provisional Govern- 
ment had ceased to exist May 13, 1849, or prior 
thereto. It was on that day that Governor Lane 
assigned the Territorial judges, appointed by the 
President, to their respective districts. Yet Thurs- 
ton asserted that "The court, or the tribunal, in 
which Dr. McLoughlin took his oaths was not such 
a court as the law requires, but was a creature of 
the Provisional Government." He asserted that 
George L. Curry, the Clerk of the court, before 
whom Dr. McLoughlin took the oath of allegiance 
and filed his intentions to become an American cit- 
izen, did it in his capacity as a clerk of a court of 
the Provisional Government (which was no longer 
in existence), instead of in the capacity of a clerk 
of the new Territorial court, and said that Judge 
Bryant informed him that this was the case. 

May 30, 1849, George L. Curry, if not the de 
jure clerk, was the de facto and acting clerk of the 

*^ See Document L, where this injunction by Thurston, written 
on the copy of his letter, is set forth in full. 



250 Dr. John McLoughlin 

Territorial District Court, before whom it was 
lawful and proper to take the oath of allegiance 
under the United States naturalization law. If, 
for any reason, Dr. McLoughlin did not comply 
technically with the law, it was nevertheless his 
intention to do so. He subscribed and filed two 
oaths on May 30, 1849. In these he swore it was 
his intention to become an American citizen and 
that "I renounce all allegiance and fidelity to any 
foreign Prince, Potentate, State and Sovereignty, 
whatsoever and particularly to Victoria, Queen of 
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
and that I will support the Constitution of the 
United States, and the provisions of 'An Act to 
establish the Territorial Government of Oregon.' " 
Under these oaths, or one of them. Dr. McLough- 
lin became a citizen of the United States Septem- 
ber 5, 1 85 1. In admitting him to citizenship the 
Judge must have found that Dr. McLoughlin's 
original declaration was sufficient and was filed in 
a court of competent jurisdiction. And yet Thurs- 
ton had said in his letter to the House of Repre- 
sentatives and in his speech of May 28, 1850, that 
Dr. McLoughlin "refuses to become an American 
citizen." 

In this speech of December 26, 1850, Thurston 
said that if any persons in Oregon owed money to 
Dr. McLoughlin, he could proceed in the Courts. 
This is true. The difficulty was to enforce judg- 
ments. Judgments could not then or prior to that 
time and until long afterwards be enforced against 
land. An execution could only reach personal 
property. If a debtor did not wish to pay a debt, 



Illustrative Documents 251 

he could sell his crops privately in advance, or he 
could cover them and other personal property 
by chattel mortgages. Thurston as a lawyer knew 
the law. The law establishing the Territorial 
Government of Oregon provided that "all laws 
heretofore passed in said Territory [t.^., by the 
Provisional Government] making grants of land, 
or otherwise affecting or incumbering the title to 
lands, shall be, and are hereby declared to be, null 
and void." 

Under the Donation Land Law a settler on pub- 
lic land had merely a possessory right which did 
not ripen into a title to the land until he had "re- 
sided upon and cultivated the same for four consec- 
utive years." It was an estate upon condition. It 
was not subject to execution sale. If such a sale 
could have been made, under a law of the Terri- 
tory of Oregon, a purchaser would take nothing - 
not even the possessory right of a settler.^^ The set- 
tler was the only one who could complete the four 
years' residence and cultivation. In fact, it was a 
long time after the passage of the law before a land 
claim could be lawfully taken up. The settlers 
really held a kind of squatter's title until the Sur- 
veyor-General was ready to proceed or to receive 
applications for surveys. The first notifications 
were not filed until 1852. Besides, the statute of 
limitations, for bringing suit on these debts, did not 
exceed six years. 

The case of McLoughlin v. Hoover, i Oregon 
Reports, 32, was decided at the December term, 
1853, of the Supreme Court of the Territory of 

•* Hall V. Russell, loi U. S., 503. 



252 Dr. John McLoughltn 

Oregon. This case shows that Dr. McLoughlin 
did bring a suit shortly after September 29, 1852, 
the exact date not being given in the decision, 
against John Hoover to recover from Hoover a 
promissory note for $560 dated October 2, 1845, 
and payable one year after date. Hoover pleaded 
the Statute of Limitations. It was held by the 
Supreme Court of Oregon Territory that at no 
time under the Provisional or Territorial govern- 
ments of Oregon was the statute of limitations to re- 
cover on notes and accounts for a longer period 
than six years. But by reason of amendments of the 
law, that the statute of limitations did not run a 
longer period than three years succeeding the act 
of September 29, 1849. The full six years from the 
time said note became due would end October 5, 
1853, counting three days of grace, but under this 
decision the statute of limitations had run Sep- 
tember 29, 1852, being less than five years from the 
time said note became due. The statute of limita- 
tions does not extinguish a debt. It merely stops 
the collection of it by law. 

In this speech Thurston was compelled to ad- 
mit that he had no proper foundation for the state- 
ment in his letter to Congress that Dr. McLough- 
lin had sent word to Fort Hall to turn the immigra- 
tion to California. He said in this speech that the 
immigrants to Oregon "at a very early period, per- 
haps as early as 1842 or 1843, were met with the 
tale that the Indians were hostile to the immi- 
grants ; that they would be cut off if they proceeded 
further on the Oregon trail ; and that this story was 
told by the officer in charge of Fort Hall, as hav- 



Illustrative Documents 253 

ing been received from Vancouver, [the head- 
quarters of Dr. McLoughlin] and that this same 
officer advised the emigrants to go to California." 
This statement is not borne out by the facts. That 
there was danger to the immigrants in coming to 
Oregon is shown by the intended massacre of the 
immigrants of 1843, as set forth in this address 
and in the McLoughlin Document. 

Thurston, in this speech, took up the Shortess 
petition and read numerous parts of it. He said 
in reference to the phrase that the petitioners 
hoped that Dr. McLoughlin never would own his 
land claicn, that that is "just what the land bill pro- 
vides for." Referring to the assertion in the Shor- 
tess petition that Dr. McLoughlin "says the land is 
his, and every person building without his permis- 
sion is held as a trespasser," Thurston said : "What 
do you think of this, Mr. Speaker? An English- 
man holding an American citizen a trespasser for 
settling on American soil, where the American 
Government had invited him! This, sir, was be- 
fore the treaty [of 1846] and before the Provisional 
Government was formed, and when one American 
citizen had as good a right to settle there as another, 
and all a better right than Dr. McLoughlin. Yet 
this barefaced Jesuit has the effrontery to pretend 
he did not hold that claim by dint of threats." 
Thurston does not explain how the American Gov- 
ernment invited the immigrants prior to 1847 to 
settle in Oregon. The truth is that the American 
settlers who left the East prior to 1849 went on 
their own initiative. They were neither invited 
nor helped nor protected by the Government, un- 



254 J^^' John McLoughlin 

til after the establishment of the Territorial Gov- 
ernment in 1849. Under the Conventions of joint- 
occupancy Dr. McLoughlin had the same rights, 
up to the Treaty of 1846, as a British subject, that 
any citizen of the United States had -no more, no 
less. This, Thurston as a lawyer, knew. 

After quoting further from the Shortess peti- 
tion, Thurston said: "Now, Mr. Speaker, all this 
was before the Provisional Government was in 
operation - before the treaty, when no man had 
any right to meddle with the soil. Who can con- 
template the helpless condition of these few and 
feeble American citizens, at that time and place, 
struggling for life, and for subsistence, thus kicked 
and bufifeted round at the mercy of one of the most 
powerful corporations on earth, headed by a man 
whose intrigues must have furnished Eugene Sue 
with a clue to his 'Wandering Jew,' -who, I say, 
sir, can thus contemplate our flesh, and blood, and 
kindred, with their land, their houses, their all, 
thus posted up, and declared subject to any dispo- 
sition this unfeeling man might make of them with- 
out shedding tears of pity for their distress. . . . 
Now, sir, just turn to my correspondence in let- 
ters one and two, where he tells you, if a man set- 
tled where the company did not allow him to, he 
paid the forfeiture with is life, or from necessity 
was compelled to yield. And here, again, the 
names of Wait and Thornton rise up before me, 
and while reading their laudations of McLough- 
lin, I can think of nothing but two Jews lauding 
Judas Iscariot. . . . 

"This petition is signed by many persons, many 
of whom I know, who are now living in Oregon. 



Illustrative Documents 255 

I can bear unqualified testimony to their character 
in society, to their honor and to their veracity. I 
undertake to say, that not a word is uttered in it but 
the truth, and it is susceptible of any reasonable 
proof. I know the gentleman who wrote the orig- 
inal, whom to know is to respect, to listen to, to be- 
lieve. He is a gentleman of the highest standing 
in Oregon, of some twelve or fourteen years' resi- 
dence, and who would be universally believed on 
any subject on which he would presume to speak. 
That gentleman informs me that every word of it 
is true to the letter. . . . If in the mouth of 
two or three witnesses all things are established, 
then surely sixty-five men are good evidence of the 
facts stated in the petition to which their names 
were attached, and, then, you and the country can 
judge whether this man McLoughlin, by whom 
all the abuses here complained of were dictated, is 
entitled to receive gratuities of the American Gov- 
ernment for such rascalities, or whether the people 
of Oregon owe him a debt of gratitude which they 
refuse to pay." 

Thurston set forth the letter of Dr. McLoughlin 
to Robert Shortess, dated at Vancouver, April 13, 
1843, i^ which Dr. McLoughlin wrote: "I am in- 
formed that you have circulated a petition for sig- 
natures, complaining of me, and of the Hudson's 
Bay Company. I hope you will, in common fair- 
ness, give me a copy of the petition, with the names 
of those who signed it, that I may know what is 
said against us, and who those are who think they 
have cause of complaint against us." Thurston 
said: "The names must be given, and for what? 
I will not say whether as a sure guide to the toma- 



256 Dr. John McLou^hlin 



hawk of the Indian, or as a precursor to death by 
combined and grinding oppression - I leave this 
to the witnesses who have already spoken. But 
could you read in the records of heaven the deeds 
of this power in Oregon, while you would admire 
the consummate skill with which they were con- 
ducted, your whole moral nature would be shocked 
by the baseness of the design, and the means for 
their accomplishment." 

Thurston in this speech, without giving names, 
gave excerpts from a number of letters he had re- 
ceived, sustaining his actions against Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin in the Donation Land Bill. Shameful 
as Thurston's actions w^ere against Dr. McLough- 
lin, Thurston had reason to believe that his actions 
were sustained and approved by leaders and mem- 
bers of the party which had elected him. Those 
who thus abetted Thurston in his misstatements 
and actions against Dr. McLoughlin were as culp- 
able as Thurston was - they became his accessories. 
Some of these afterwards were ashamed of their 
actions against Dr. McLoughlin. Their repent- 
ances, although late, are commendable. 



DOCUMENT O 

Correspondence of S. R. Thurston, Nathaniel J. 
Wyeth, Robert C. Winthrop and Dr. John 
McLoughlin, published in the "Oregon Spec- 
tator,!' April 3, 18 SI. 

"Chicopee, Mass., Nov. 16, 1850." 
"Capt. Nath. J. Wyeth: 

"My Dear Sir- You will excuse me, I am sure, 



Illustrative Documents 257 



when I assure you I am from Oregon, and her del- 
egate to the Congress of the United States, for ad- 
dressing you for a purpose of interest to the coun- 
try to which I belong. 

"I desire you to give me as correct a description 
as you can at this late period, of the manner in 
which you and your party, and your enterprise in 
Oregon, were treated by the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, and particularly by Doc. John McLoughlin, 
then its Chief Factor. This Dr. McLoughlin has, 
since you left the country, rendered his name odi- 
ous among the people of Oregon, by his endeavors 
to prevent the settlement of the country, and to 
cripple its growth. 

"Now that he wants a few favors of our Govern- 
ment, he pretends that he has been the long tried 
friend of Americans and American enterprise west 
of the mountains. Your early reply will be highly 
appreciated, both for its information, and your re- 
lation to my country. 

"I am, sir, yours very truly, 

"S. R. Thurston." 

"Cambridge, Nov. 21, 1850." 
"Hon. Sam'l R.Thurston: 

"Dear Sir- Your favor of the i6th inst., was re- 
ceived on the 19th. The first time I visited the 
Columbia, in the autumn of 1832, I reached Van- 
couver with a disorganized party of ten persons, 
the remnant of twenty-four who left the States. 
Wholly worn out and disheartened, we were re- 
ceived cordially, and liberally supplied, and there 
the party broke up. I returned to the States in the 
Spring of 1833 with one man. One of the party, 
Mr. John Ball, remained and planted wheat on 



25^ Dr. John McLoughlin 

the Willamette, a little above Camp du Sable, hav- 
ing been supplied with seed and implements from 
Vancouver, then under the charge of John 
McLoughlin, Esq., and this gentleman I believe 
to have been the first American who planted wheat 
in Oregon. I returned to the country in the au- 
tumn of 1834, with a large party and more means, 
having on the way built Fort Hall, and there met 
a brig which I sent around the Horn. In the win- 
ter and spring of 1835, I planted wheat on the Wil- 
lamette and on Wappatoo Island. 

"The suffering and distressed of the early Amer- 
ican visitors and settlers on the Columbia were al- 
ways treated by Hudson's Bay Company's agents, 
and particularly so by John McLoughlin, Esq., 
with consideration and kindness, more particularly 
the Methodist Missionaries, whom I brought out 
in the autumn of 1834. He supplied them with 
the means of transportation, seeds, implements of 
agriculture and building, cattle and food for a 
long time. 

"I sincerely regret that the gentleman, as you 
state, has become odious to his neighbors in his old 
age. 

"I am your ob't serv't, 

"NaTH. J. Wyeth." 

"Cambridge, Nov. 28, 1850." 
"Hon. Robert C. Winthrop : 

"Dear Sir -I have received a letter from Sam'l 
R. Thurston, of which the following is a portion : 

" *I desire you to give me as correct a descrip- 
tion as you can at this late period, of the manner in 
which you and your party, and your enterprise in 



Illustrative Documents 259 

Oregon, were treated by the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany west of the Rocky mountains, and particu- 
larly by Dr. John McLoughlin, then its Chief 
Factor. This Dr. McLoughlin has since you left 
the country, rendered his name odious among the 
people of Oregon, by his endeavors to prevent the 
settlement of the country and cripple its growth. 
Now that he wants a few favors of our Govern- 
ment, he pretends that he has been the long-tried 
friend of Americans and American enterprise 
west of the mountains.' 

"I have written Mr. Thurston, in reply to the 
above extract, that myself and parties were kindly 
received, and were treated well in all respects by 
J. McLoughlin, Esq., and the officers of the Hud- 
son's Bay Co.; but from the tenor of his letter, I 
have no confidence that my testimony will be pre- 
sented before any committee to whom may be re- 
ferred any subjects touching the interests of said 
John McLoughlin, Esq. 

"The very honorable treatment received by me 
from Mr. McLoughlin during the years inclusive 
from 1832 to 1836, during which time there were 
no other Americans on the Lower Columbia, ex- 
cept myself and parties, calls on me to state the 
facts. 

"The purpose of this letter is to ask the favor of 
you to inform me what matter is pending, in which 
Mr. McLoughlin's interests are involved, and be- 
fore whom, and if you will present a memorial 
from me on the matters stated in Mr. Thurston's 
letter as above. 

"Respectfully and truly your ob't servant, 

"Nath. J. Wyeth." 



26o Dr. John McLou^hlin 

"Washington, Dec. 28, 1850." 
"Dear Sir -I took the earliest opportunity to 
enquire of Mr. Thurston what there was pending 
before Congress or the Executive, in which Mr. 
McLoughlin's character or interest were con- 
cerned. He would tell me nothing, nor am I 
aware of anything. 

"Respectfully your ob't serv't, 

"R. C. WiNTHROP." 
"To. N. J. Wyeth, Esq." 

"John McLoughlin, Esq. : 

"Dear Sir -On the 19th of December, 1850, T 
received a letter from Sam'l R. Thurston, delegate 
from Oregon, of which see copy No. i, and by 
same mail an Oregon newspaper containing a com- 
munication over your signature, the letter [latter], 
I think, addressed in your handwriting. 

"From the tenor of Mr. Thurston's letter, I pre- 
sumed he wanted my testimony for some purpose 
not friendly to yourself. I answered his letter as 
per copy No. 2, but doubting if my testimony, ex- 
cept it suited his views, would be presented, and 
being ignorant of his intentions, I wrote the Hon. 
R. C. Winthrop, late Speaker of the House of Rep- 
resentatives, and at present a member of the Senate 
of the United States, as per copy, [No. 3] and re- 
ceived from him a reply as per copy [No. 4]. 

"Should you wish such services as I can render 
in this part of the United States, I shall be pleased 
to give them in return for the many good things 
you did years since, and if my testimony as regards 
your efficient and friendly actions towards me and 
the other earliest Americans who settled in Oregon, 



Illustrative Documents 261 

will be of use in placing you before the Oregon 
people in the dignified position of a benefactor, it 
will be cheerfully rendered. 

"I am, with much respect, yours truly, 

"Nath. J. Wyeth." 

"Mr. Thurston writes to Mr. Wyeth, 'That Dr. 
McLoughlin has, since you left the country, ren- 
dered his name odious to the people of Oregon.' 
(That I have rendered my name odious to the 
people of Oregon, is what I do not know.) And 
*By his endeavors to prevent the settlement of the 
country, and to cripple its growth.' I say I never 
endeavored to prevent the settlement of the coun- 
try, or to cripple its growth, but the reverse. If 
the whole country had been my own private prop- 
erty, I could not have exerted myself more stren- 
uously than I did to introduce civilization, and 
promote its settlement. 'Now that he wants a few 
favors of our Government, he pretends that he has 
been the long tried friend of Americans and 
American enterprise west of the mountains.' Mr. 
Wyeth states how I acted towards him and his 
companions, the first Americans that I saw on this 
side of the mountains. Those that came since, 
know if Mr. Thurston represents my conduct cor- 
rectly or not. As to my wanting a few favors, T 
am not aware that I asked for any favors. I was 
invited by the promises held out in Linn's bill, to 
become an American citizen of this territory. I 
accepted the invitation and fulfilled the obligations 
in good faith, and after doing more, as I believe 
will be admitted, to settle the country and relieve 
the immigrants in their distresses, than any other 



262 Dr. John McLoughlin 



man in it, part of my claim, which had been 
jumped, Mr. Thurston, the delegate from this ter- 
ritory, persuades Congress to donate Judge Bry- 
ant, and the remainder is reserved. I make no 
comment - the act speaks for itself, but merely ob- 
serve, if I had no claim to Abernethy Island, why 
did Mr. Thurston get Congress to interfere, and 
what had Judge Bryant done for the territory to 
entitle him to the favor of our delegate? Mr. 
Thurston is exerting the influence of his official 
situation to get Congress to depart from its usual 
course, and to interfere on a point in dispute, and 
donate that island to Abernethy, his heirs and as- 
signs, alias Judge Bryant, his heirs and assigns. 
*'Yours respectfully, 

"JNO. McLoughlin." 
With this correspondence was published the fol- 
lowing letter from Doctor McLoughlin to the Ed- 
itor of the Oregon Spectator: "I handed the fol- 
lowing letters to the Editor of the Statesman, and 
he refused to publish them, unless as an advertise- 
ment." This last letter is quoted to show that the 
letters set forth in this Document O are authentic. 
The first number of the Oregon Statesman was 
published March 28, 1851.^^ 



DOCUMENT P 

Letter from Rev. Vincent Snelling to Dr. John 
McLoughlin of March Q, 18^2. 
The original of the following letter is now in the 

" This correspondence was also published in full in the ffesiern 
Star (published at Milwaukee, Oregon), in its issue of April lo, 1851. 



Illustrative Documents iS^ 

possession of the Oregon Historical Society, from 
which this copy is made. Rev. Vincent Snelling 
was the first Baptist minister who came to Oregon. 

"Oregon City, 9th March, 1852." 
"Mr. John McLoughiin, Esq., 

"Dear Sir: 
"Having learned that you intend shortly to visit 
Washington City, and knowing that you have 
been misrepresented by our Delegate from this 
country, - and wishing as an honest man, and a 
friend to truth and justice, to contribute some- 
thing toward the correction of those misrepre- 
sentations, I submit to your acceptance and dis- 
posal the following : 

"I arrived in Oregon in the fall of 1844 and have 
been an observer of your treatment of and conduct 
to the American immigrants. I know that you 
have saved our people from suffering by hunger 
and I believe from savage cruelty also. I know 
you sent your boats to convey them down the Col- 
umbia river, free of charge, and that you also sent 
them provisions when they were in a state of star- 
vation, and that you directed them to be distrib- 
uted among the immigrants, to those that were des- 
titute of money equally with those that had. Nor 
did your kindness stop there, as many of us lost 
nearly all we possessed by the time we arrived in 
the valley. You continued your favors by letting 
us have both food and raiment for the year, seed 
wheat, and charging no more than the same num- 
ber of bushels the next harvest, plows and cattle to 
plow with. To conclude I do affirm that your con- 
duct ever since I have known vou has been such as 



264 Dr. John McLou^hlin 



to justify the opinion that you were friendly to the 
settlement of the country by Americans. I judge 
the tree [by] its fruit; you have done more for the 
American settlers than all the men that were in it, 
at that time. 

"With sincere wishes that you may obtain your 
rights, 

"I subscribe myself yours, 

"Vincent Snelling, 
"Ord. Minister Gospel, Baptist." 



DOCUMENT Q 

Excerpts from "The Hudson's Bay Company and 
Vancouver's Island" by James Edward Fitzger- 
ald, published in London in 184Q,' and excerpt 
from "Ten Years in Oregon" by Rev. Daniel 
Lee and Rev. J. II. Frost, published in New 
York in 1 8 44. 

In order to show some of the unjustifiable abuse 
of Dr. McLoughlin from British sources, I here 
insert an excerpt from pp. 13-18, inclusive, of 
"The Hudson's Bay Company and Vancouver's 
Island" by J. E. Fitzgerald. He says: "Dr. 
M'Loughlin was formerly an Agent in the North 
West Fur Company of Montreal ; he was one of the 
most enterprising and active in conducting the war 
between that Association and the Hudson's Bay 
Company. In the year 1821, when the rival com- 
panies united. Dr. M'Loughlin became a factor of 
the Hudson's Bay Company. But his allegiance 
does not appear to have been disposed of along 



Illustrative Documents 265 

with his interests; and his sympathy with anything 
other than British, seems to have done justice to 
his birth and education, which were those of a 
French Canadian. 

"This gentleman was appointed Governor of all 
the country west of the Rocky Mountains; and is 
accused, by those who have been in that country, of 
having uniformly encouraged the emigration of 
settlers from the United States, and of having dis- 
couraged that of British subjects. 

"While the Company in this country were assert- 
ing that their settlements on the Columbia River 
were giving validity to the claim of Great Britain 
to the Oregon territory, it appears, that their chief 
officer on the spot was doing all in his power to 
facilitate the operations of those, whose whole 
object it was to annihilate that claim altogether. 

"There is one story told, about which it is right 
that the truth should be ascertained. It is said that 
a number of half-breeds from the Red River set- 
tlement were, in the year 1841, induced by the 
Company's officers to undertake a journey entirely 
across the continent, with the object of becoming 
settlers on the Columbia River. 

"It appears that a number went, but on arriving 
in the country, so far from finding any of the 
promised encouragement, the treatment they re- 
ceived from Dr. M'Loughlin was such, that, after 
having been nearly starved under the paternal care 
of that gentleman, they all went over to the Ameri- 
can settlement on the Wallamette valley. 

"These emigrants became citizens of the United 
States, and it is further said, were the first to 



266 Dr. John McLoughlin 

memorialize Congress to extend the power of the 
United States over the Oregon territory. 

"For the truth of these statements we do not of 
course vouch. But we do say they demand inquiry. 

"Dr. M'Loughlin's policy was so manifestly 
American, that it is openly canvassed in a book 
written by Mr. Dunn, one of the servants of the 
Company, and written for the purpose of praising 
their system and policy. 

"Sir Edward Belcher also alludes to this policy. 
He says, - 'Some few years since, the Company 
determined on forming settlements on the rich 
lands situated on the Wallamatte and other rivers, 
and for providing for their retired servants by al- 
lotting them farms, and further aiding them by 
supplies of cattle &c. That on the Wallamatte was 
a field too inviting for missionary enthusiasm to 
overlook; but instead of selecting a British subject 
to afiford them spiritual assistance, recourse was 
had to Americans - a course pregnant with evil 
consequences, and particularly in the political 
squabble pending, as will be seen by the result. 
No sooner had the American and his allies fairly 
squatted, - (which they deem taking possession of 
the country) than they invited their brethren to 
join them, and called on the American Govern- 
ment for laws and protection.' 

"A great deal of importance is attached to the 
account given by Commodore Wilkes, U. S. N., of 
the operations of the Hudson's Bay Company on 
the north-west coast; and it is inferred that testi- 
mony, coming from such a quarter, is doubly in 
favour of the Company. 



Illustrative Documents 267 



"Nothing, indeed, can be higher than the terms 
in which Captain Wilkes speaks of the Hudson's 
Bay Company's chief factor. Dr. M'Loughlin, and 
of the welcome he met, and the hospitality he ex- 
perienced during his stay upon the coast. 

"Captain Wilkes was far too sensible and dis- 
criminating a man, not to see, plainly enough, 
whose game Dr. M'Loughlin was playing. But 
there is something strange, if we turn from the 
perusal of Captain Wilkes' narrative, and the de- 
scription of the facilities which were ever afforded 
him, to the following passage from Sir Edward 
Belcher's voyage : 

"The difference of the reception which a 
frigate of the United States Navy met with, 
from that which one of Her Majesty's ships ex- 
perienced, is a most suspicious fact, as sug- 
gesting the animus of the Company's agents upon 
the north-west coast. Sir Edward Belcher says: 
*The attention of the Chief to myself, and those 
immediately about me, particularly in sending 
down fresh supplies, previous to my arrival, 
I feel fully grateful for; but I cannot conceal my 
disappointment at the want of accommodation ex- 
hibited towards the crews of the vessels under my 
command, in a British possession.' 

"We certainly were not distressed, nor was it 
imperatively necessary that fresh beef and vege- 
tables should be supplied, or I should have made a 
formal demand. But as regarded those who might 
come after, and not improbably myself among 
the number, I inquired in direct terms what facili- 
ties Her Majesty's ships of war might expect, in 



268 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

the event of touching at this port for bullocks, 
flour, vegetables, &c. I certainly was extremely 
surprised at the reply, that 'they were not in a con- 
dition to supply.' . . . The American policy 
of the Hudson's Bay Company would seem from 
the above facts, to be more than a matter of 
suspicion. 

"It is very easy to say, these are idle tales; they 
are tales - but such tales, that Parliament ought to 
make a searching investigation into their truth. 
. . . It is certain that Dr. McLoughlin has now 
left the Hudson's Bay Company, and has become 
nominally^ what he seems to have been for years, 
really - an American citizen^ living in the midst of 
an American population, which he collected 
around him, upon soil, to which he knew that his 
own country had, all along, laid claim." 

Sir Edward Belcher's exploring expedition was 
at Fort Vancouver in August, 1839. He insisted 
that the crews of his vessels should be supplied 
with fresh beef. Dr. McLoughlin was not then at 
Fort Vancouver. Probably he had not returned 
from his trip to England in 1838-9. Mr. Douglas, 
who was in charge, refused Belcher's request be- 
cause the supply of cattle was not sufficient for that 
purpose. Fresh beef was supplied to Sir Edward 
Belcher and his officers. 

Commodore Wilkes and his exploring expedi- 
tion were on the Oregon Coast in 1841. He did 
not ask for his crews to be supplied with provi- 
sions. He was grateful for the kind treatment of 
himself, his officers and men, by Dr. McLoughlin 
and other officers of the Hudson's Bay Company. 



Illustrative Documents 269 

Sir Edward Belcher, it seems, was not grateful.'*' 
In relation to the Red River immigrants, who 
arrived in 1841, the statement of Fitzgerald is 
mostly untrue. These settlers came to Oregon in 
1 841 under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany and settled on Nisqually Plains, near Puget 
Sound. These plains are almost sterile, being an 
enormous bed of very fine gravel mixed with some 
soil at the surface. It is easy to understand how 
these settlers were disappointed in living by them- 
selves on the Nisqually Plains, when they could 
come to the Willamette Valley with its fertile soil 
and be near the settlers in the Willamette Valley. 
It must be borne in mind that when these Red 
River settlers went to the Willamette Valley, they 
were practically as much dependent on the Hud- 
son's Bay Company and Dr. McLoughlin, as 
though they had stayed on the Nisqually Plains. 

Rev. Daniel Lee and Rev. J. H. Frost wrote a 
book entitled "Ten Years in Oregon," which was 
printed in New York in 1844. On page 216 of that 
work they say of these settlers from Red River: 
"They went to Nesqually, on Pugit's Sound; but, 
after spending a year, it was found that the land 
was of a very inferior quality, and that they could 
not subsist upon it. Thus, after having subjected 
themselves to many hardships, and privations, and 
losses, for almost two years, they had yet to remove 
to the Walamet Valley, as promising to remun- 
erate them for their future toil, and make them 
forget the past. Accordingly most of them re- 
moved and settled in the Walamet in 1841-2." 

'" See Document F, 



1'jo Dr. John McLou^hlin 



DOCUMENT R 

Note on authorship of '^History of Oregon' in 

Bancroft's Works; and sources of information 

for this monograph. 

Hubert Howe Bancroft obtained a fine collec- 
tion of books and pamphlets relating to early Ore- 
gon and a great deal of other information before 
the "History of Oregon," in his Works, was writ- 
ten. A great many Oregon pioneers were person- 
ally interviewed and their statements reduced to 
writing. He also borrowed, on a promise to re- 
turn, a great many private papers and other docu- 
ments, including letters and copies of letters from 
the heirs of Dr. McLoughlin and from other Ore- 
gon pioneers and heirs of pioneers, which he has 
not yet returned, although he borrowed these 
papers and documents more than twenty years ago. 
Said "History of Oregon" is largely supplemented 
by foot-notes taken from this information obtained, 
or caused to be obtained by Bancroft. The defense 
of Dr. McLoughlin to the report of Capt. Warre 
and Lieut. Vavasour, was afterwards returned to 
Dr. McLoughlin by James Douglas, to whom it 
was sent by Sir George Simpson. It was among 
the papers loaned to Bancroft. 

While Bancroft was a handy man in collecting 
materials, he wisely employed Frances Fuller 
Victor, Oregon's best and greatest historian, to 
write the "History of Oregon" for his Works. It 
was largely, if not wholly, written by her. This 



Illustrative Documents 271 

applies particularly to that part of the history up 
to and including the year 1850. For years she had 
been a careful student of Oregon history. She 
had access to all the data collected by Bancroft. 

In 1871 Mrs. Victor published "The River of 
the West" which sets forth many of the facts about 
Dr. McLoughlin, his land claim, and the actions 
of the missionaries and the conspirators against 
him, which are contained in this address and in the 
"History of Oregon" in Bancroft's Works. Vol- 
ume one of the latter history was published in 1886, 
and volume two was published in 1888. 

In writing this monograph on Dr. McLoughlin 
I have found The River of the West and Bancroft's 
History of Oregon of some use, especially where 
the information was taken from the documents so 
borrowed by Bancroft. But I have obtained most 
of my facts from original sources. Wherever it 
w^as possible I have consulted Oregon newspapers 
and books and pamphlets written by persons who 
took part in the events described, or which were 
written contemporaneous therewith, and letters 
written by pioneers. 

The Oregon Historical Society has a number of 
original letters, files of early Oregon newspapers, 
and other documents relating to events in early 
Oregon. Many of these I have examined and 
taken copies of. In this I have been greatly aided 
by Mr. George H. Himes, for years the efficient 
Assistant Secretary of the Oregon Historical Soci- 
ety, and Secretary of the Oregon Pioneer Associa- 
tion. I have also obtained copies from two issues 
of the Oregon Spectator in the possession of the 



27- Dr. John McLou^hlin 

University of Oregon, through the courtesy of 
Prof. Frederic G. Young. 



DOCUMENT S 

Excerpts from opinions of contemporaries of Dr. 

McLoughlin. 

In addition to opinions of Dr. McLoughlin set 
forth in the address, I here set forth excerpts 
from other opinions, given by some of his contem- 
poraries. I have selected these out of many high 
opinions and eulogies upon Dr. McLoughlin. 

Judge Matthew P. Deady, in an address before 
the Oregon Pioneer Association, in 1876, said:^^ 
"Dr. John McLoughlin was Chief Factor of the 
Company [Hudson's Bay Company] west of the 
Rocky mountains, from 1824 to 1845, when he re- 
signed the position and settled at Oregon City, 
where he died in 1857, full of years and honor. 
. Although, as an officer of the Company, 
his duty and interest required that he should pre- 
fer it to the American immigrant or missionary, 
yet at the call of humanity, he always forgot all 
special interests, and was ever ready to help and 
succor the needy and unfortunate of whatever 
creed or clime. 

"Had he but turned his back upon the early 
missionary or settler and left them to shift for 
themselves, the occupation of the country by 
Americans would have been seriously retarded, 
and attended with much greater hardship and suf- 

'^ Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1876, p. i8. 



Illustrative Documents I'JZ 

fering than it was. For at least a quarter of a cen- 
tury McLoughlin was a grand and potent figure 
in the affairs of the Pacific slope. . . . But he 
has long since gone to his rest. Peace to his ashes ! 
Yet the good deeds done in the body are a lasting 
monument to his memory, and shall in due time 
cause his name to be written in letters of gold in 
Oregon history." 

Governor Peter H. Burnett, from whose "Rec- 
ollections and Opinions of An Old Pioneer," I 
have already quoted, also said in that book (pp. 
143, 144) : "Dr. John McLoughlin was one of 
the greatest and most noble philanthropists I ever 
knew. He was a man of superior ability, just in 
all his dealings, and a faithful Christian. I never 
knew a man of the world who was more admir- 
able. I never heard him utter a vicious sentiment, 
or applaud a wrongful act. His views and acts 
were formed upon the model of the Christian 
gentleman. He was a superior business man, and 
a profound judge of human nature. ... In 
his position of Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay 
Company he had grievous responsibilities im- 
posed upon him. He stood between the absent 
directors and stockholders of the Company and 
the present sufTfering immigrants. He witnessed 
their sufferings; they did not. He was unjustly 
blamed by many of both parties. It was not the 
business of the Company to deal upon credit; and 
the manager of its affairs in Oregon was suddenly 
thrown into a new and very embarrassing position. 
How to act, so as to secure the approbation of the 
directors and stockholders in England, and at the 



274 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

same time not to disregard the most urgent calls 
of humanity, was indeed the great difficulty. No 
possible line of conduct could have escaped 
censure. 

"To be placed in such a position was a misfor- 
tune which only a good man could bear in pa- 
tience. I was assured by Mr. Frank Ermatinger, 
the manager of the Company's store at Oregon 
City, as well as by others, that Dr. McLoughlin 
had sustained a heavy individual loss by his char- 
ity to the immigrants. I knew enough myself to 
be certain that these statements were substantially 
true. Yet such was the humility of the Doctor 
that he never, to my knowledge, mentioned or al- 
luded to any particular act of charity performed 
by him. I was intimate with him, and he never 
mentioned them to me." 

Col. J. W. Nesmith,'^ from whose address in 
1876 I have already quoted, in that address also 
said:'^^ "Dr. John McLoughlin was a public 
benefactor, and the time will come when the peo- 
ple of Oregon will do themselves credit by erect- 
ing a statue to his memory. . . . Thus far 
detraction and abuse have been his principal re- 
wards." 

Hon. Willard H. Rees, a pioneer of 1844, in his 
address before the Oregon Pioneer Association, 
in 1879, said:^'' "Dr. McLoughlin, as director of 

'* Col. J. W. Nesrnith was a Captain of Oregon volunteers in the 
Cayuse Indian War of 1847; and also in the Rogue River Indian War 
of 1852, and was Colonel of the First Regiment of Oregon Mounted 
Volunteers in the Yakima Indian War of 1855. He was a United 
States Senator and also a Representative to Congress from Oregon. 

■" Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1876, p. 58. 

'* Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1879, pp. 29, 
30. 



Illustrative Documents i']S 

the affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company west of 
the Rocky mountains, had more power over the 
Indians of the whole Northwest Coast, which he 
judiciously exercised, than all other influences 
multiplied and combined. He was a great and 
just man, having in no instance deceived them, 
firm in maintaining the established rules regulat- 
ing their intercourse, making their supplies, so far 
as the Company was concerned, strictly depend 
upon their own efforts and good conduct, always 
prompt to redress the slightest infraction of good 
faith. This sound undeviating policy made Dr. 
McLoughlin the most humane and successful 
manager of the native tribes this country has ever 
known, while the Indians both feared and re- 
spected him above all other men. . . . Dr. 
McLoughlin was no ordinary personage. Nature 
had written in her most legible hand preeminence 
in every lineament of his strong Scotch face, com- 
bining in a marked degree all the native dignity 
of an intellectual giant. He stood among his pio- 
neer contemporaries like towering old [Mount] 
Hood amid the evergreen heights that surround his 
mountain home - a born leader of men. He would 
have achieved distinction in any of the higher 
pursuits of life. . . . His benevolent work 
was confined to no church, sect nor race of men, 
but was as broad as suffering humanity, never re- 
fusing to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and 
provide for the sick and toilworn immigrants and 
needy settlers who called for assistance at his old 
Vancouver home. Many were the pioneer moth- 
ers and their little ones, whose hearts were made 



276 Dr. John McLoughlin 

glad through his timely assistance, while destitute 
strangers, whom chance or misfortune had thrown 
upon these, then, wild inhospitable shores, were 
not permitted to suffer while he had power to re- 
lieve. Yet he was persecuted by men claiming 
the knowledge of a Christian experience, defamed 
by designing politicians, knowingly misrepre- 
sented in Washington as a British intriguer, until 
he was unjustly deprived of the greater part of 
his land claim. Thus, after a sorrowful experi- 
ence of man's ingratitude to man, he died an hon- 
ored American citizen." 

J. Quinn Thornton was one of the early Oregon 
pioneers. He came to Oregon with the immi- 
gration of 1846. At the meeting of the Oregon 
Pioneer Association in 1875, he furnished to that 
Association a history of the Provisional Govern- 
ment of Oregon. In this history, speaking of Dr. 
John McLoughlin, Thornton said:'^ "The late 
Dr. John McLoughlin resided at Fort Vancou- 
ver, and he was Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay 
Company west of the Rocky Mountains. He was 
a great man, upon whom God had stamped ;i 
grandeur of character which few men possess and 
a nobility which the patent of no earthly sovereign 
can confer. . . . As a Christian, he was a 
devout Roman Catholic, yet, nevertheless, catholic 
in the largest sense of that word. . . . He 
was a man of great goodness of heart, too wise to 
do a really foolish thing, too noble and magnani- 
mous to condescend to meanness, and too forgiv- 
ing to cherish resentments. The writer, during 

"' Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1875, P- S^- 



Illustrative Documents 277 

the last years of Dr. McLoughlin's life, being his 
professional adviser, had an opportunity such as 
no other man had, save his confessor, of learning 
and studying him; and as a result of the impres- 
sions, which daily intercourse of either a social 
or business nature made upon the writer's mind, 
he hesitates not to say, that old, white-headed John 
McLoughlin, when compared with other persons 
who have figured in the early history of Oregon, 
is in sublimity of character, a Mount Hood tow- 
ering above the foot hills into the regions of eter- 
nal snow and sunshine." 

Col. J. K. Kelly was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
First Regiment of Oregon Mounted Volunteers 
in the Yakima Indian War of 1855. ^^ was after- 
wards a United States Senator from Oregon, and 
Chief Justice of the Oregon State Supreme Court. 
In his address to the Oregon Pioneer Association 
in 1882, speaking of Dr. McLoughlin, Col. Kelly 
said:^^ "Just and generous as that law [Oregon 
Donation Land Law] was to the people of Ore- 
gon, yet there was one blot upon it. I refer to the 
provisions contained in the nth section of the 
act by which the donation claim of Dr. John Mc- 
Loughlin, known as the Oregon City claim, was 
taken from him and placed at the disposal of the 
Legislative Assembly to be sold and the proceeds 
applied to the endowment of an university. It 
was an act of injustice to one of the best friends 
and greatest benefactors which the early immi- 
grants ever had. I do not propose to speak of the 
many estimable and noble qualities of Dr. Mc- 

'" Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1882, p. 26. 



278 Dr. John McLoughlin 

Loughlin here. They have been dwelt upon by 
others who have heretofore addressed the Pioneer 
Association, and especially by Mr. Rees in 1879. 
I concur in everything he said in praise of Dr. 
McLoughlin. 

"It was my good fortune to know him well dur- 
ing the last six years of his life, years which were 
embittered by what he considered an act of in- 
gratitude after he had done so many acts of per- 
sonal kindness to the early immigrants in their 
time of need. That Dr. McLoughlin was unjustly 
treated in this matter, few, if any, will deny. And 
I am very sure that a large majority of the people, 
in Oregon, at that time, condemned the act which 
took away his property, and tended to becloud his 
fame. And yet no act was ever done by the Ter- 
ritorial Government to assert its right to the Ore- 
gon City claim during the life of Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin; and in 1862, five years after his death, 
the State of Oregon confirmed the title to his de- 
visees upon the payment of the merely nominal 
consideration of $1,000 into the university fund. 
And so five years after he was laid in his grave an 
act of tardy justice was done at last to the memory 
of the grand old pioneer." It was largely through 
Col. Kelly's influence and actions that this act was 
passed in favor of Dr. McLoughlin's devisees. 

Horace S. Lyman was a son of Rev. Horace 
Lyman, a Congregational minister who came to 
Oregon in 1849, and who founded the First Con- 
gregational Church of Portland in June, 185 1. 
Horace S. Lyman grew up in Oregon and from 
his own knowledge, from personal association 



Illustrative Documents 279 

with pioneer missionaries and others, and from 
reading, he became well acquainted with the his- 
tory of Oregon. He was the author of a "History 
of Oregon^' published in 1903. His associate edi- 
tors were Mr. Harvey W. Scott, Judge Charles 
B. Bellinger, and Prof. Frederic G. Young. In 
the fourth volume of this history, page 381, it is 
said: "Whether the justice of history, and the 
recognition of after times, when personal interests 
and partizan spites are dissipated, and a character 
like that of McLoughlin stands forth as one of the 
best ever produced under the British flag, and one 
of the best ever given to America, should be re- 
garded as compensation for the injustice and suf- 
ferings of a life darkened in old age, may not be 
determined. Yet the historian must ever assert 
that a character worthy of perpetual commemo- 
ration and admiration, illuminating, by humanity 
and Christian doctrine, the dark chapters of wil- 
derness life from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 
setting a star of hope over the barracks of a mer- 
cenary trading company, is worth all personal 
sacrifice. It is of such acts that great history con- 
sists. Even to the Doctor himself, going down in 
old age and poverty, and doubting whether his 
family would have a support, and believing that 
he had better have been shot as a beast than to have 
so suffered, we may hope that it was but 'a light 
affliction, compared with the perpetual conscious- 
ness of a life of peace and good will sustained in a 
period menaced by war." 

As I have said, my uncle, Daniel S. Holman, 
was one of the immigrants of 1843. He was then 



28o Dr. John McLoughlin 

about tvv^enty-one years old. He will be eighty- 
five years old the fifteenth of November, 1907. 
He lives at McMinnville, Oregon, strong in mind 
and body. When I was honored by being selected 
to deliver the address, I wrote him asking for his 
opinion of Dr. John McLoughlin, for I knew his 
feelings. He wrote me August 7, 1905. In this 
letter he said: "I received yours requesting me 
to tell you of some of the kind acts of Doctor Mc- 
Loughlin. It would take more time than I have 
to speak of all the very good things that he did, 
but I can say that he did all that was in his power 
to do to help the starving, wornout and poverty 
stricken [immigrants] that came to Oregon. For 
the first three or four years after I came if he had 
not helped us we could not have lived in Oregon. 
At the time we came he sent his boats to The 
Dalles, free of cost, to help all that could not help 
themselves to go down the river. He also sent 
food and clothing to the destitute and gave it to 
them. He also furnished seed grain to everyone 
who wanted, and waited for his pay until they 
raised wheat to pay. The fact is there never was 
a better man than he was. He did more than any 
other man did to settle Oregon. History says Doc- 
tor Whitman was the man who saved Oregon to the 
United States, but that is not true. It was Dr. 
John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany. So says every man that is a man, that came 
to Oregon up to 1849. He furnished the entire 
immigration with food and clothing for the first 
year after we came. The people did not have 
monev to live on and so he fed and clothed us all. 



Illustrative Documents 281 

Some never paid hirn but some did pay the good 
old man." 

And he added a postscript to say that his wife 
thought he had not said enough about Dr. John 
McLoughlin. She has been my uncle's loving and 
faithful help-mate for more than fifty-nine years. 
She is a pioneer of 1846. She, too, is still strong, 
mentally and physically. My uncle said in the 
postscript: "I can say that I am sure no man could 
have done better than he did to us all. In the fall 
of 1845 I went out to meet the immigrants and was 
gone from home six or eight weeks without a 
change of clothing. I got back to Vancouver 
where the Doctor then lived. I was as ragged as 
I could be. I went to his office and told him I 
wanted some clothing, but had no money. He 
gave me an order to his son to let me have what- 
ever I wanted in the store. He treated others as 
he did me. In 1848 he let every one who wanted 
to go to the mines have all they needed, on time, to 
go to California. Some never paid him. Have 
you anyone in Portland that would help any and 
all such men off to the mines on such chances of 
getting their pay? I don't think there is such a 
man in Oregon, or any other place. You can't say 
too much in his praise." 

Joseph Watt, a pioneer of 1844, from whose 
"Recollections of Dr. John McLoughlin" I have 
already quoted, also said, in said Recollections:''' 
"The next I saw of the Doctor was in Oregon City, 
he having stayed at Fort Vancouver until all the 

'" Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1886, pp. 
25-27. 



282 Dr. John McLoughlin 

immigrants for that year [1844] had arrived. He 
was building a large flouring mill, at that time 
nearing its completion. He already had a saw- 
mill in full blast, also was building a dwelling 
house, preparing to move to that place, which he 
did in the following spring. From that time to 
his death he was a prominent figure in Oregon 
City. Nothing pleased him better than to talk 
with the settlers, learn how they were getting 
along, their prospects, of their ability to live, and 
to help others. He was anxious that every one 
should be well and kept busy. He could not en- 
dure idleness or waste. Over-reaching, or, what 
we Americans call 'sharp practice,' he had no 
patience with whatever. As far as he was con- 
cerned all transactions were fair, straight-forward 
and honorable. Those who knew him best never 
thought of disputing his word or his declared in- 
tentions, although there were some high in au- 
thority who did this in after years, apparently for 
selfish motives; and through their representations, 
caused the U. S. Government to do an act of great 
injustice. But I am proud to be able to say that 
all, or nearly all of the first settlers, did not en- 
dorse the action, and never rested until the wrong 
was adjusted as nearly as it was possible to do so. 
. It appeared by common consent that he 
was practically the first governor of the great 
North Pacific Coast. No man ever fulfilled that 
trust better than Dr. John McLoughlin. He was 
always anxious over the Indian problem. No one 
understood the Indian character better than he 
did. All the Indians knew him as the great White 



Illustrative Documents 283 

Chief,' and believed whatever he said could be 
depended on ; that he was not their enemy, but was 
strictly just with them in every thing; - could 
punish or reward, as he thought best, and no 
trouble grew out of it. But with the settlers the 
case was different. . . . Dr. McLoughlin! 
Kind, large-hearted Dr. John McLoughlin! One 
of nature's noblemen, who never feared to do his 
duty to his God, his country, his fellow-men and 
himself, even in the wilderness. The pioneers of 
this great North-West feel that they owe Dr. 
John McLoughlin a debt of gratitude above all 
price, and that they and their posterity will cherish 
his memory by a suitable monument placed on the 
highest pinnacle of fame within the State of 
Oregon." 

Archbishop F. N. Blanchet came to Oregon in 
1838 as Vicar-General of the Roman Catholic 
Church in Oregon. He was consecrated as Arch- 
bishop in Quebec in 1845. I^ ^^^ "Historical 
Sketches of the Catholic Church in Oregon" (pub- 
lished in 1878), from which I have already quoted, 
he also said of Dr. McLoughlin (pp. 8 and 9) : 
"He was one of 'nature's noblemen' in every 
sphere of life. Of commanding presence, strict 
integrity, sound judgment, and correct principles 
of justice, no man was better qualified for the posi- 
tion he occupied as the father and friend of both 
the Indians and the whites who then jointly occu- 
pied the Pacific northwest. Dr. McLoughlin was 
the arbiter to whom both whites and Indians 
looked for the settlement of their diflferences, and 
the friend from whom they sought relief in all 



284 Dr. John McLou^hlin 

their difficulties. . . . Under the impartial 
supervision of this good and great man the busi- 
ness of the Hudson Bay Company prospered amaz- 
ingly; he perpetuated peace between the Indians 
and the employes of the Company. . . . He 
also extended assistance to every immigrant whose 
necessities required it, and his good deeds have 
enshrined his name amidst the most honored of 
the pioneers of the Pacific Coast." And on page 
71 Archbishop Blanchet said: "Dr. John Mc- 
Loughlin was the father of the orphans and serv- 
ants of the H. B. Co.; the father of the French- 
Canadian colonies of Cowlitz and Wallamette 
Valley; of all the American immigrants; and a 
great benefactor of the Catholic Church." 

It will be remembered that Rev. Daniel Lee was 
a Methodist missionary, who came to Oregon in 
1834. ^^ worked faithfully and earnestly for 
about ten years when he returned to the Eastern 
States. He continued in the ministry and died 
about 1895. His son. Rev. William H. Lee, is 
the Pastor of the People's Mission Church at Colo- 
rado Springs. He was in Portland in 1905. 
In answer to the inquiry of Mr. G. H. Himes, 
Assistant Secretary of the Oregon Historical Soci- 
ety, Rev. William H. Lee wrote the following let- 
ter at his home, July 31, 1905, to Mr. Himes: "As 
the son of a pioneer Oregon Missionary I wish to 
add my tribute of respect to the memory of Dr. 
John McLoughlin. For 10 years my father Rev. 
Daniel Lee labored in missionary work in Oregon 
and during all these years John McLoughlin was 
his friend. When my Father and Mother were 



Illustrative Documents 285 

united in marriage it was within the hospitable 
walls of Ft. Vancouver and we treasure a mar- 
riage certificate signed by John McLoughlin as 
one of the witnesses. Many times have I heard 
my Father and Mother speak of the kindness of 
Dr. John McLoughlin. And one of the most 
pleasant memories of my recent visit to Portland 
was the privilege I had of stopping in Oregon 
City and placing some flowers on the grave of 
my Father and Mother's friend." 

The well known writer, S. A. Clarke, who was 
an Oregon immigrant of 1850, published a two vol- 
ume work in 1903, entitled: "Pioneer Days of 
Oregon History." In this work (vol. i, pp. 214,^ 
215) Mr. Clarke says of Dr. McLoughlin: "It 
was because of his loyalty to humanity and his 
kindness to Americans that he lost his high official 
station and was left almost heartbroken in his old 
age. We can afford to hold up in contrast those 
who profited by his bounty and left him to pay 
the bill; also those - be they Missionaries or who 
- that tried to rob him of his land claim, with the 
nobler minded man -John McLoughlin- who 
did so much and lost so much for humanity, and 
never expressed regret." 

Mr. Clarke in this work (vol. i, p. 226) nar- 
rates the following incident, which was told to him 
by Dr. William C. McKay, who was a grandson 
of Mrs. Dr. John McLoughlin. It will be re- 
membered that her first husband was Alexander 
McKay, who was killed in the capture of the Ton- 
quin in 181 1. "In 1843 William Beagle and family 
reached Vancouver destitute, and he had the ty- 



286 Dr. John McLoughlin 

phus fever. McLoughlin heard of it and told 
Dr. Barclay there was a sick and destitute family 
at the landing; to fix up a house for them, make 
them comfortable and attend to the sick. 

''Dr. W. C. McKay had just returned from the 
States where he pursued medical studies. So the 
doctor invited him to assist in taking care of his 
patients. There was the mother and several chil- 
dren, who had all they needed for two months, 
until Beagle got better, when he went to Govern- 
or McLoughlin and asked what his bill was. 
'Tut, tut, tut! bill, bill, bill! Take care of your- 
self, sir! That is the bill!" Beagle pleaded 
that even the doctor couldn't afford to take care of 
his family and treat them so long without pay. 
'Tut, tut, tut,' was the reply. 'You do the best 
you can for some other man who is in trouble, and 
that will pay me.' 

"He sent them up the Willamette, free of 
charge, sold them supplies that were necessary 
until Beagle could earn money, and was finally 
paid for them in full. This is but one instance in 
the many where the kindness and generosity of Dr. 
McLoughlin was manifested toward Americans 
who reached Vancouver sick and impoverished 
and received his generous and kindly care." 



INDEX 



INDEX 



ABERNETHY, General George, 
65, 66, 109, 116, 122, 126, 134, 
135, 187, 209, 211, 223, 23s, 240, 

243- 
Abernethy Island, 102, 103, 107, 
108, no, 114, 116, 117, 122, 126, 

130, 134. 135, 141. 142. 143, 153. 
200, 214, 228, 23s, 236, 237, 239, 
242, 262. 

Academy, Wesleyan, 112 {see also 
Schools). 

Acapulco (Mex.), 144. 

Act, Organic, 67; of 1848, 114; 
trading, 177. 

Adams, Thomas (an Indian), 
185. 

Agriculture, 85, 258. 

Alaska, 19. 

America, 38, 175, 180, 279; Brit- 
ish, 32, 95 {see also Canada) ; 
North, 41, 177, 178, 179; South, 
189; a ship, 68. 

Americans, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 
40, 42, 44, 45-52, 61, 62, 64, 66, 
69, 71, 72. 73, 74, 78, 83, 84, 85, 
88, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 100, 
I02, 124, 127, 129, 133, 156, 157, 
167, 168, 170, 182, 199, 213, 220, 
238, 239, 244, 249, 250, 253, 254, 
257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 263, 264, 
266, 268, 272, 276, 282, 284, 285, 
286. 

Anderson, John, 205. 

Applegate, Jesse, 67, 99, 108, 119, 
120, 150, 151, 224, 237. 

Apples, iSi {see also Fruit). 



Army, t/fitish, 23, 24, 91, 227. 
Arnold, Benedict, 130, 230, 234. 
Arkansas (state), 221. 
Arrendrill, C. T., 205. 
Articles of Agreement, 224-226. 
Astor, John Jacob, 20, 24. 
Astoria, 19, 20, 27, 194, 197, 212. 
Atlantic Ocean, 279. 
Attorneys, 107, 118, 212, 218, 219, 
225, 247. 

BABCOCK, Dr. I. L., 210. 

Bailey, Dr. — , 2io. 

Baker's Bay, 195. 

Ball, John, 257. 

Baltimore, i86. 

Bancroft, Hubert Howe, History 
of Oregon, cited, 92, 97, 99, 107, 
no, 116, 211, 227, 229, 270-272. 

Baptists, 133, 238, 263. 

Barclay, Dr. — , 76, 286. 

Barlow Road, 91. 

Bates, James M., 205. 

Battles, 23, 24 {see also Wars). 

Beagle, William, 285. 

Beaumont (Canadian parish), 23. 

Beaver, Rev. Herbert, 34. 

Beaver-skins, 191. 

Beef, 43, 44, 45, 195, 267. 

Beers, Alanson, 65, 205. 

Belcher, Sir Edward, 43, 44, 266, 
267, 268, 269. 

Bellamy, G. W., 205. 

Bellinger, Judge Charles B., 279. 

Bennet, V., 205. 

Berry, William J., 135. 



290 



Dr. John McLou^hlin 



Blanchet, Archbishop Francis Nor- 
bert, 162; Historical Sketches, 
cited, 98, 99, 283, 284. 

Blue Mountains, 33, 

Boats, 78, 184, 201, 232, 263, 280, 
{see also Ships). 

Bonds, 208, 209, 217, 218, 225, 227. 

Bonneville, Captain — , 33, 49, 

"7» 199- 

Boone, Daniel, 83. 

Boston (Mass.), 48, 52, 186. 

Bostons (name given to Ameri- 
cans), 72, 73, 74. 

Boundaries, of Oregon County, 19, 
20, 21, 39, 68, 86, loi, 129, 131, 

231, 232, 233, 236. 
Bowlii), — , 229. 

Brallier, Henry, letter by, 196, 197. 
Bread, 59. 
Brewer, H. B., 205. 
Bribery, 143. 
Bridges, J. C, 205. 
British, 35, 39, 40, 64, 67, 68, 92, 
97. I57i 165, 166, 215, 216, 231. 

232, 239. 

Brooks, Wm. (an Indian), 185. 

Broughtan, Lieut. — , 28. 

Brown, — , 221. 

Brown, G., 205. 

Brown, Jeffrey, 205. 

Brown, J. Henry, Political history 

of Oregon, cited, 66, 119, 209. 
Brown, William, 205. 
Brum, William, 205. 
Bryant, Judge W. P., 122, 130, 

133, 134, 13s. 142, 148, 152, 228, 

229, 235, 239, 240, 241, 243, 249, 

262. 
Bryce, — , The remarkable history 

of the Hudson's Bay Company, 

cited, 181. 
Buddha, 146. 

Burgoyne, General John, 23. 
Burnett, Peter H., 70, 73, 75, 76, 

77, 120, 121, 151, 273, 274. 
Burns, Hugh, 210. 



Eutler, 59. 

CALCUTTA (India), 48. 

California, 19, 25, 37, 44, 45, 50, 
51, 52, 64, 69, 76, 123, 124, 138, 
199, 248, 252, 253, 281. 

California Bill, 132, 234. 

Cambridge (Mass.), 45, 258. 

Campbell, H., 205. 

Campbell, J. J., 205. 

Camp du Sable, 258. 

Canada, Dominion of, 20, 22, 23, 
24, III, 113, 186; Upper, 38, 39. 

Canadians, 79, 133, 189, 190, 238; 
French, 41-45, 46, 61, 98, 99, 
265, 284. 

Canal, 201. 

Cannon, 29. 

Canoes, 54, 72, 197. 

Cape Horn, 258. 

Carolinas, 84. 

Cartee, L. F., 153. 

Carter, David, 205. 

Cascades, 70, 71, 76, 197; Moun- 
tains, 79, 91. See also Rapids. 

Cason, F. C, 153. 

Casualties, 70. 

Cathlamet, 195. 

Catholics, 22, 98, 99, 100, 133, 147, 
151, 157, 167, 171, 189, 190, 191, 
192, 238, 276. 

Cattle, 28, 37, 43, 44, 45, 57, 66, 
75, 76, 77, 78, 87, "7. 183, 194, 
199, 232, 258, 263, 266, 268. 

Cayuse (Indian tribe), 37, 40, 61, 
74, 88, 145, 274 {see also 
Wars). 

Champoeg (Ore.), 65, 69 {see 
also the following) . 

Champooing, 192. 

Chance, William, 212. 

Charles II (king of Great Brit- 
ain), 21. 

Charters, 21, 95, 194 {see also 
Grants). 

Chemekete, (Ore.), 115. 



Index 



291 



Chicopee (Mass.), 256. 

Churches, 99, 238; Catholic, 157, 
167, 171, 283; English, 167; 
Methodist, 109. See also Mis- 
sionaries and kindred topics. 

Clackamas County (Ore.), 115. 
124. 

Clackamas Falls, 236. 

Clackamas Female Protestant Sem- 
inary, 133, 238. 

Clackamas River, 106, 107, iii, 
120, 237. 

Clark, George Rogers, 83. 

Clarke, — , 191. 

Clarke, S. A., Pioneer days, cited, 
285, 286. 

Clayoquot Sound, 24. 

Coggswell, William (artist), 162. 

Colonies, American, 20. 

Colorado Springs (Col.), 284. 

Columbia River, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 
30, 32, 33. 34. 35. 36, 38, 42, 45, 
46, 47. 49. 51, 59, 67, 70, 71, 79, 
80, 85, 89, 90, 100, 103, 136, 140, 
154. 195. 198, 199. 201, 203, 204, 
216, 222, 230, 232, 245, 257, 258, 
259, 263, 265. 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
118. 

Compo, Charles, 205. 

Comyns, — , 217. 

Confiscations, 159. 

Confucius, 146. 

Congregationalists, 133, 147, 238, 
278. 

Congress, 21, 65, 104, 105, 116, 121, 
123, 129, 130, 132, 135, 136, 137, 
138. 139. 142, 143. 144, 145. 146, 
149, 150, 152, 153, 154, 155, 203, 
204, 210, 215, 217, 220, 232, 243, 
244, 246, 248, 252, 257, 260, 262, 
266, 274. 

Congressional Globe, cited, 129, 
229, 234, 247. 

Constitution, 64, 121, 215, 217, 250. 

Conventions, 21, 32, lor, 113, 129, 



175, 176, 177, 221, 254 {see also 

Treaties). 
Cook, Aaron, 205. 
Coombs, E. N., 205. 
Copeland, A., 205. 
Corn, 213. 
Coursen, — , 221. 
Courts, 38, 39, 109, 113, 115, 116, 

121, 128, 142, 198, 215, 221, 222, 

223, 225, 228, 229, 240, 249, 250, 

251, 252. 
Cowenia, — , 128. 
Cowlitz, 284. 

Crawford, Medorum, 69, 205. 
Creeks, 184. 
Curry, George L., 243, 244, 249. 

DALLES (Indians), 72, 73. 

Dartmouth College, 74. 

Davis, George, 205. 

Davis, S., 205. 

Deady, Judge Matthew P., 128, 

162, 272, 273. 
Debt, collection of, 252. 
Deeds, land, 115, 118, 203, 205, 

206-208, 217, 225. 
De Haven, — , 128. 
Donation Land Law, loi, 102, 103, 

105, no, m, 123, X24, 128, 129, 

137, 140-143, 145, 149. 150, 152, 

154, 157, 159, 160, 161, 164, 247, 

248, 251, 256. 
Douglas, James, 39, 43, 44, 67, 75, 

191. 195. 226, 227, 268, 270. 
Dryad, (a ship), 51. 
Dunn, — , History of the Oregon 

Territory, cited, 29, 36, 37, 266. 

EDMUNDS, John, 205. 
Edwards, — , 183. 

Edwards, P. L. (teacher), 55, 73. 
Ekin, Richard H., 205. 
Elections, 244. 
Elijah, an Indian, 37. 
Ellice, E., 178. 

England, 20, 25, 32, 36, 43, 103, 
113, 125, 134, 167, 177, 239, 273, 



292 



Dr. John McLoughlin 



English, 38, 135, 133, 182, 238, 253, 

{see also British, England, and 

Great Britain). 
English Church, 98, 191. 
Epidemics, 27, 60. 
Epitaph, 158. 
Epps, Captain — , 24. 
Erniatinger, Frank, 274. 
Evans, Elwood, History of Pacific 

Norihzvesl, cited, no, 116, 2ii. 
Executions, 38, 40. 
Expeditions, 43, 45-52, 54, 76, 77. 

195, 227, 268. 
Exports, 28, 29. 

FAIRFIELD (Ore.), 99. 

Farmers, 199, 234. 

Farms, 28, 41, 42, 81, 181, 194, 199, 
213, 215, 217, 266. 

Farnham, Thomas J. (traveler), 
30. 

Faulitz Plains, 191. 

Figueroa, — , (governor of Califor- 
nia), 51. 

Fillmore, Millard, 141, 249. 

Fitzgerald, James Edward, The 
Hudson's Bay Company, cited, 
264-268, 269. 

Flatheads (Indian tribe), 55, 112. 

Flour, 117, 122 (see also Wheat). 

Force, James, 205. 

Forest Creek (Ore.), 243. 

Forts, 20, 21, 24, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 

35- 

Fowl, 43. 

Eraser, Angelique, mother of Mc- 
Loughlin, 23. 

Eraser, Malcolm, 23. 

Fraser, Samuel, M. D., 23. 

Eraser, General — , 23. 

Fraser Highlanders, 23. 

Fremont, Col. John C, 77, 78, 227, 
233- 

French, 38, 182, 245 (see also 
Canadians, French). 

French Prairie (Ore.), 56, 103. 



Freshets, 184. 

Frost, Rev. J. H., 188, 269. 

Fruit, 28. 

Funds, misappropriation of, 187. 

Furs, 20, 26, 29, 32, 35, 36, 43, 52. 

Furtrade, 32, 33, 177, 178, 202. 

Furtraders, 24, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 
49 {see also Trade and com- 
merce). 

GALE, Joseph, 65. 

Garden, 203. 

Gary, Rev. George, 63, 109, no, 
222. 

Gay, George, 210. 

George (Fort), 20, 21, 27, 28. 

Germany, 26. 

Ghent, 20, 2i. 

Gibbs, Joseph, 205. 

Gifts, 57, 59, 71, 73, 82, 138, 139, 
141, 165. 

Gilpin, Major W., 226, 227. 

Girtman, Daniel, 205. 

Gladstone Park, 106, in. 

Goats, 28. 

Gordon, Captain — , 68, 91. 

Governor's Island. See Abernethy 
Island. 

Grain, 28 {see also Wheat). 

Grants, 178, 179, 180, 205 {see 
also Charters). 

Gray, W. H., 54; History of Ore- 
gon, cited, 66, 119, 205, 209, 210. 

Great Britain, 19, 20, 21, 32, 33, 
34, 39, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 71, 90, 
93, 95, 100, loi, 104, 112, 128, 
141, 142, 156, 157, 164, 175, 176, 
221, 250, 265. {See also Eng- 
land). 

Green River, 53. 

Greenhow — , History of Oregon 
and California, cited, 180. 

Gregory XVI (pope), i6i. 

Griffin, J. S., 123. 

Griffith, — , 191. 

Grover, Gov. I.. F., 158, 159. 



Index 



293 



HALL,—, 251. 

Hall (Fort), 46, 47, 69, 129, 131, 
229, 231, 233, 252, 258. 

Hannah, — , 128. 

Harvey, Daniel, 25, 160. 

Harvey, James W. McLoughlin, 
(grandson of Dr. J. McLough- 
lin), 25, 63. 

Hastings, — , 203, 205, 207, 209. 

Hathaway, Felix, 114, 115, 134, 
205, 23s, 236, 239. 

Hauxhurst, W., 205. 

Hawaiian Islands, 28, 51, 212, 213, 

222. 

Hess, Joseph, 79. 
Hill, David, 65. 
Hill, Tom (a Shawnee Indian), 

74. 
Himes, George H., 272, 284. 
Hines, Rev. Gustavus, 48, 205, 

223 ; History of Oregon, cited, 

57, 59. 222- 

Hines, Rev. H. K., D. D., 48, 55, 
166-169, ^87; Missionary his- 
tory, cited, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 6r, 
62, 65, 106, no, HI, 112, 113, 
185, 186. 

Hoaikaika (ship), 222, 223. 

Hofstatter, John, 205. 

Hogs, 28, 75, 76. 

Holman, Daniel S., 70, 279-281. 

Holman, Frederick V., preface, 
15-17; Dr. John McLoughlin, 
19-172. 

Holman, J., 205. 

Holman, James D. (the author's 
father), 138, 241. 

Holman, John (grandfather of 
the author), 70. 

Holman, Joseph, 113, 114. 

Holman, Woodford C, 138. 

Honolulu (Hawaii), 222. 

Hoover, John, 251, 252. 

Horregon, Jer., 205. 

Horses, 28, 51, 69, 77, 87, 159, 183, 
194. 



Howard, — , 221. 

Howard, John, 205. 

Howison, Lieut. Neil M., 135, 136. 

Hubbard, T. J., 205. 

Hudson Bay, 184. 

Hudson's Bay Company, 20, 21, 
22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 32, 33, 34, 
35, 36, 37. 38. 39, 42, 43, 44. 45. 
46, 47. 49. 50, 51. 53, 54, 56, 57. 
58, 62, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 73, 74, 
76, 77, 79, 81, 86, 90, 91, 93, 94, 
95. 97, 102, 104, no, 115, 116, 
117, 118, 120, 123, 124, 125, 129, 
130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 139, 150, 
155, 156, 157. 162, 167, 168, 176, 
177, 178, 179, 185, 191, 192, 194, 
195, ^96, 197, 199. 200, 201, 202, 
204, 210, 212, 216, 220, 229, 230, 
231, 232, 238, 239, 241, 242, 247, 
248, 255, 257, 258, 259, 264, 266, 
267, 268, 269, 272, 273, 274, 275, 
280, 284. 

Hudspath, — , 237. 

Humason, Orlando, 153. 

Hunters, 191. 

IDAHO, 19, 46, 54. 

Illinois (state), 113. 

Immigrants, and immigration to 
Oregon, 15, 41, 61, 62, 64, 69- 
90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 100, 105, 
116, 129, 132, 136, 140, 148, 150, 
151, 165, 169, 196, 197, 230, 232, 
233, 248, 252, 253, 261, 263, 265, 
269, 272, 273, 279, 280, 281, 284. 

Independence (Mo.), 70, 87. 

Indians, 24, 26, 27, 32, 35 -41, 49, 
54, 55, ^o, 61, 62, 63, 71, 72, 73, 
74, 87, 88, 92, 95, 100, 103, 107, 
"2, 124, 132, 141, 156, 163, 171, 
177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 185, 186, 
r88, 192, 193, 196, 202, 230, 235, 
238, 252, 256, 274, 275, 282, 283, 
284. 

Ireland, 22, 176, 250. 

Irish, 133, 151, 182, 238. 



294 



Dr. John McLoughlin 



Iroquois (Indians), 73. 
Ithaca (N. Y.), 53- 
Ivory, 63. 

JACKSON,— (furtrader), 33. 

Jackson, B. B., 153. 

Japanese, 182. 

Jesuitism, 234. 

Jesuits, 61. 

Jews, 146. 

Johnson, VV., 205. 

Judges, 134, 162, 239, 244, 24s, 

250. 
Judson, L. H., 205. 

KAMOURASKA (parish in Can- 
ada), 22. 

Kaministiquia River, 24. 

Kelley, Hall J., 50, 51, 52. 

Kelly, Col. — , 278. 

Kentucky (state), 83. 

Kilbourn, Captain W. K., 237. 

Kincaid, H. R., Biennial Report, 
of iSgg, cited, 228. 

Klakamus Plains, 204. 

Klakamus River, 200 {see also 
Clackamas). 

Kone,— , 187, 1 88. 

LADD & CO., 204. 

La Framboise, Michel, 195, 197. 

Lambert, Captain — , 182. 

Lancaster, Columbus, 123, 245. 

Land Claims, 68, 80, 88, 99, loi- 
114, ii8, 119, 122, 123, 124, 125, 
127, 129, 132. 1361 137. 138. 139, 
140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 146, 152, 
-^53. 154. i55> i59> ^6o> 200, 202, 
-205, 214, 2i8, 220, 222, 223, 225, 
-227, 228, 229, 232, 234, 23s, 236, 
237, 238, 240, 241, 242, 243, 245, 
251, 253, 262, 272, 277, 278, 285. 

Land laws, 119, 120, 133 {see also 
Donation Land Law). 

Lane, Gen. Joseph, 65, 235, 240, 
242, 248. 

Lapwai (Idaho), 54. 



Lausanne (a ship), 48, 59, 61, 63, 
103, 105, 113, 115, 186. 

Lawson, J., 205. 

Lawyer, 254. 

LeBreton, George W., 205. 

Lee, Rev. Daniel (missionary), 55, 
59, 73, 102, 113, 114, 181, 183, 
264, 269, 284. 

Lee, Rev. Jason (missionary), 50, 
54, 55. 56, 57. 58. 59, 62, 65, 66, 
73, 102, 106, no. III, 112, 167, 
180-185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 210, 
212, 214, 219, 222, 223, 235, 236, 

237- 
Lee, Rev. William H. (son of 

Daniel), opinion of McLoughlin, 

284, 285. 
Leslie, Rev. David, 58, 108, no, 

224, 226, 227. 
Lewis, Jr., S., 205. 
Lewis, Reuben, 205. 
Lewis and Clark Exposition, 16. 
Lewiston (Idaho), 54. 
Linn Bill, 104, in, 261. 
Linn, Senator — , 104, in. 
Linnton (Ore.), 75. 
London, 21, 29, 36, 43, 46, 59, 63, 

96, 112, 168, 175. 
Los Angeles (Cal.), 25. 
Love joy, A. Lawrence, 122, 226 ; 

letter by, 218, 219. 
Lucier, Etienne, 102, 103. 
Lumber, 28, 117, 122 {see also 

Timber). 
Lyman, Horace, 278. 
Lyman, Rev. Horace S., History of 

Oregon, 278, 279. 
Lytle, — , 221. 

McCARVER, General — , 73. 
McDougal, Duncan, 20. 
McGillivray, S., 178. 
McGiliivray, W., 178. 
McGruder, Theodore, 240. 
McKarty, William, 205. 
McKay, — , 181. 



Index 



295 



McKay, Alexander, 24, 285. 

McKay, Dr. William C, 285. 

McLoughlin, David (brother of 
Dr. McL.), 23, 24. 

McLoughlin, David (son of Dr. 
McL.), 24, 25, 160. 

McLoughlin, Eliza (daughter of 
Dr. J. McL.), 24, 

McLoughlin, Eloisa (daughter of 
Dr. McL.), 24, 25, 160. 

McLoughlin, John (father of fol- 
lowing), 22. 

McLoughlin, Dr. John: revered in 
Oregon, 15; McLoughlin Day, 
16; life, 19-172; illustrative 
documents on, 175-286; gene- 
alogy and family, 22-25; and 
the Oregon Country, 25-27; 
treatment of Indians, 35-41; let- 
ters, etc. by, 57, 149-152, 205, 
206, 229-243 {see also Mc- 
Loughlin Document, and 
Deeds) ; kindness and humanity 
of. 34. 36, 37. 45-48, S<5, 57. 59. 
72, 73. 75-83. 89, 100, 101, 106, 
163, 164, 167-172, i8i, 182, 184, 
190, 197, 257-259, 272-286; ap- 
pellations, 91, 161, i68, 171, 282, 
283; persecuted, 122, 123, 152- 
158; his land claims {see Land 
Claims); naturalized, 120-122; 
answer to Thurston, 130-135. 

McLoughlin, John (son of Dr. 
McL.), 24. 

McLoughlin, Mrs. Dr. John, 285. 

McLoughlin Day, 16, 196. 

McLoughlin Document, cited, 41, 
44. 48, 55. 71. 72, 82, 83, 103, 
155. 156, 253. 

McMinnville (Ore.), 280. 

McNeil, Captain — , 239. 

Magruder, Theodore, 122. 

Marechell, — , 196, 197. 

Marion County (Ore.), 102. 

Martin, — , Hudson Bay Territor- 
ies, cited, 180, 181. 



Massachusetts (state), 45, 112. 

Mazatlan (Mex.), 222. 

May Dacre (a ship), 47, 57, 

Meek, Joseph L., 123. 

Melons, 181. 

Memphregog (Lake), 112, 113. 

Methodists, 113, 116, 119, 133, 147, 
238 {see also Missionaries, and 
Missions). 

Mexican Government, 52. 

Mexico, 222. 

Mills, 28, 79, 103, 115, 116, n8, 
124, 125, 126, 127, 132, 134, 154, 
193. 199, 200, 201, 214, 234, 240, 
282. 

Milner, Dr. — , 99. 

Milwaukee (Ore.), 144, 262. 

Mines, 123, 281. 

Minto, John, 37, 79, 164. 

Mirabel (Cal.), 25. 

Missionaries, 38, 50, 56, 81, 100, 
I02, 112, 147, 148, 166, 167, 169, 
180-185, 186, 190, 191, 192, 236, 
272, 279, 285; Catholic, 98, too; 
Congregational, 98; Methodist, 
52, 54-63, 65, 88, 98, 103, 104, 
105, 109, no, HI, 115, 126, 147, 
148, 187, 188, 212, 224, 258, 284; 
Presbyterian, 52-54, 98 {see also 
Missions). 

Missionary Board, Report to, 185- 
189, 222. 

Mission Church, 284. 

Mission Party, 123, 138, 144, 145. 

Missions (Catholic), 192. 

Missions (Methodist), 64, 67, 103, 
105, io6, io8, 109, HO, HI, 114, 
115, 116, 120, 123, 124, 127, 132, 
146, 185, 187, 192, 193, 202, 210, 
214, 222, 223, 226, 227, 228, 234, 
235, 245. 

Mississippi River, 84. 

Missouri (state), 58, 70, 84, 87, 
229. 

Modeste (ship), 68. 

Moffitt, J. W., 153. 



296 



Dr. John McLoughlin 



Ivlontana (state), 19, 20. 

Monopolies, 44, 191, 216, 220. 

Montreal, 20, 22, 264. 

Morrison, J. L., 205. 

Moss, S. W., 205. 

Mount Hood, 171, 275, 277. 

Mt. McLoughlin, 170, 171. 

Mt. Pitt, 170. 

Murders, 35, 40, 74. 

Myrick, Mrs. Josiah, 25, 158. 

NESMITH, Col. J. W., 41, 70, 

7h 75, 123. 274. 
Nesqually, 269. 
Nevada (state), 19. 
New England, 85, 100. 
New England conference, 112. 
New York (city), 63, 185, 186, 

222. 
Neiu York Herald, cited, 75. 
Nisqually Plains, 269. 
North Fork, 184. 
North Pacific Coast, 282. 
Northwest Coast, 131, 201, 231, 

275. 
Northwest Fur Company, 20, 21, 

22, 24, 95, 176, 177, 178, 264. 
Nunnery, 238. 

Nutall, — (botanist), 49, 50. 
Nye, Chauncey, 153. 

OAK, 192. 

Ohio (state), 113. 

O'Neil, James A., 205. 

O'Neill,—, 194, 

Oregon (country, territory, and 
state), 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 
25, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 
37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 48, 49, S^, 
52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 
62, 63, 64-68, 69, 70, 71, 77, 79, 
81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 91, 92, 94, 
95, 96, 100, 101, 103, 104, 109, 

no, 112, 113, 114, lis, 119, 121, 
122, 123, 124, 126, 129, 131, 132, 
135, 137, 1381 139, 140, 142, 143, 
144, 145, 148, 153, 154, 156, 158, 



160, i6i, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 
168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 176, 185, 
187, 188, 190, 196, 197, 198, 199, 
201, 202, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 
209, 211, 212, 213, 218, 221, 222, 

223, 224, 227, 228, 229, 231, 233, 
235, 238, 240, 250, 251, 252, 254, 
255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 
262, 263, 265, 266, 268, 269, 270, 
271, 273, 274, 276, 277, 27S, 2S0. 
281, 283, 284. 

Oregon (ship), 195. 

Oregon Bill, 223, 233 (see also 

Donation Land Law). 
Oregon City (Ore.), 42, 59, 66, 

68, 69, 70, 80, 82, 87, 91, 96, 101, 
102, 103, 106, 107, 108, no, 111, 
115, 116, 118, 121, 122, 123, 124, 
125, 127, 132, 135, 136, 137, 
138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 154, 
155, 157, 159, 202, 205, 206, 207, 
208, 211, 212, 213, 219, 220, 222, 

224, 225, 226, 227, 234, 237, 240, 
241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 247, 272, 
274, 278, 281, 282, 285. 

Oregon City Claim, 124 (see also 

Land claims). 
Oregon Donation Law, 19 (see 

also Donation Land Law). 
Oregon Historical Societ}', 16, 68, 

75, 161, 180, 187, 212, 218, 223, 

224, 226, 263, 284. 
Oregon House Journal, cited, 153, 

160. 
Oregonian, cited, 196. 
Oregon Land Bill, 132 (see also 

Donation Land Law). 
Oregon Legislature, 67, 133, 152, 

153, »54, 160, 161, 163, 164, 170, 

171, 277. 
Oregon Milling Company, 108, 

114, 115, 117, 118, 122, 127, 130, 

200, 201. 
Oregon Pioneer Association, 41, 61, 

69, 71, 75, 79, 82, 162, 163, 164, 
165, 212, 272, 274, 276, 277, 281. 



Index 



297 



Uregon Provisional Government, 


Pittman, Anna Maria, 58. 


39, 40, 64-68, 70, 88, 92, 93, loi, 


Platte River, 184. 


109, 115, 119, 120, 138, 151, 237, 


Plows, 263. 


249, 251, 252, 253, 254, 276. 


Polk (County), 243, 


Oregon Reports, cited, 251. 


Polk, James K., 21, 87, 100. 


Oregon Senate Journal, cited, 160. 


Pomeroy, Walter, 206, 210. 


Oregon Spectator, cited, 87, 124, 


Porpoise (ship), 195. 


130, 135, 137, 138, 139, 145, 229, 


Portage, 236. 


243, 246, 256, 262, 272. 


Porter, J. M. (Secretary of War), 


Oregon Statesman, cited, 262. 


136. 


Oregon Supreme Court, 128. 


Portland (Ore.), 16, 17, 25, 75, 


Oregon Territorial Government, 


158, 159, 162, 196, 209, 278, 281, 


19, 6s, 138. 


284, 285. 


Oxen, 44, 57, 76, 87, 88, 168, 183 


Portland General Electric Com- 


{see also Cattle). 


pany, 102. 




Potatoes, 28, 213. 


PACIFIC Coast and slope, 15, 


Prairies, 193. 


273, 284- 


Presbyterians, 133, 146, 238. 


Pacific Fur Company, 20, 24. 


Prices, 33, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49, 77, 


Pacific Ocean, 19, 45, 186, 279. 


118, 201. 


Pancott, Theodore, 205. 


Priests, Catholic, 22, 61, 189, 191. 


Paris (France), 24. 


Protestants, icxj, 133, 146, 147, 190, 


Park, Captain — , 68, 91. 


238. 


Parker, Rev. Samuel (Mission- 


Puget's Island, 195. 


ary), 53- 


Puget Sound, 68, 190, 269. 


Parliament, 32, 38, 177, 268, 




Parrish, J. L., 62, 205. 


QUEBEC (city), 22, 283. 


Patents, 215. 




Pawnee Mission, 58. 


RACCOON (British sloop-of- 


Peacock (ship), 194, 196. 


war), 20. 


Peel, Lieut. Wm., 68, 91. 


Rae, William Glen, 24, 25, 69. 


Peel, Sir Robert, 68. 


Rafts, 70 {see also Ships), 


Penalties, 35-41, 42. 


Rapids, 70, 102, 103, 114, 119, 136, 


Pendleton (Ore.), 48, 166. 


191, 200, 201, 202, 213, 224, 235, 


Pennoyer, Governor Sylvester, 165. 


236, 242. 


Peopeomoxmox (Indian Chief), 37. 


Raymond, W. W., 224, 226. 


Perkins, Rev. H. K. W., 210. 


Red River Settlement, 265, 269. 


Pfeiffer, W. A., 205. 


Rees, Hon. Willard H., 274, 278; 


Philadelphia (Penn.), 186, 190. 


opinion of McLoughlin, 274-276. 


Pillar Rock, 38. 


Regiments, 23, 274. 


Pine, 192. 


Rekener, J., 205. 


Pineries, 112. 


Remick, William C, 204, 205. 


Pioneers, 15, 37, 67, 71, 77, 86, 91, 


Revolution, Cromwellian, icxs. 


101, 137, 138, 139, 140, 148, 150, 


Richmond, Dr. — , 188. 


158, 163, 164, 165, 170, 171, 172, 


Ricord, John (attorney), 107, 212- 


186, 270, 275, 281, 283, 284. 


218, 220, 222, 223. 



298 



Dr. John McLoughlin 



Riviere du Loup (a parish), 22. 


Ships, 33, 35, 36, 38, 45, 47 


48, 


Robb, J. R., 205. 


51, 58, 59, 61, 63, 68, 103, 


105, 


Robertson, James, 83. 


"3, "5, 13s, 181, 182, 183, 


186, 


Rocky Mountains, 19, 20, 49, 53, 


194, 19s, 196, 222, 223, 258, 


267. 


94, 97, 124, 162, 176, 177, 183. 


Shortess petition, 104, 116 


-119, 


185, 200, 2IO, 259, 261, 265, 272, 


148, 175-209, 210, 212, 253, 


254- 


275, 276 {see also Stony Moun- 


Shortess, Robert, n6, 119, 


196, 


tains). 


204, 206, 208, 209, 211, 255 




Rogue River Indians, 274. 


Simpson, Sir George, 90, 96, 


270. 


Rome (Italy), 161. 


Sitka (Alaska), 29. 




Roosevelt, Theodore, irinning of 


Skinner, A. A., 122. 




the West, cited, 84. 


Slacum, — , 202. 




Roy, Charles, 205. 


Slocum, W. A., 28. 




Russell, — , 251. 


Smith, A. D., 205. 




Russians, 201. 


Smith, Jedediah S. (furtrader), 




33, 35, 36, 38, 74- 




ST. GREGORY the Great, 


Smith, Milton \V., 209. 




Knight of, 161. 


Snake country, 47. 




St. Lawrence River, 22. 


Snake River, 27, 196. 




Salem (Ore.), 56, iii, 113, 115, 


Snelling, Vincent, letter to 


Mc- 


"9, 138, 159, 163. 


Loughlin, 262-264. 




Salmon, 36, 43, 202. 


Sonoma County (Cal.), 25. 




Sand Island, 35. 


Spalding, Mrs. Henry H., 


54- 


Sandwich Islands, 29, 187, 189, 


Spalding, Rev. Henry H., 54 




204, 220. 


Spies, 91, 97. 




San Francisco (Cal.), 25, 69, 135. 


Staats, Stephen, 82. 




Saratoga, battle of, 23. 


Stanstead (Canada), 112. 




Savages, 26 {see also Indians). 


Stark, — , 222. 




Sawyer, — , 128. 


Starrs, — , 222. 




Schoolhouses, 30. 


Statesman, cited, 262. 




Schools, 98, 99, 133, 192, 238 {see 


Stikeen (Fort), 24. 




also Seminary). 


Stony Mountains, 175, 176, 


178. 


Scotch, 182, 190. 


180 {see Rocky Mountains). 


Scotland, 23, 24. 


Straits of Juan de Fuca, 193 




Scott, Harvey W., 279. 


Sublette,— (furtrader), 33, 




Seaside, 196, 197. 


Sue, Eugene, 254. 




Seminary, 238 {see also Schools). 


Sumatra (a ship), 58. 




Senate Document, 209. 


Superior (lake), 24. 




Senators, 70, 158, 274. 


Surveyors, 224, 237, 251. 




Sevier, John, 83. 


Sutton, William C, 119, 205, 


210. 


Seymour, Admiral — , 68, q\. 


Sweet Water River, 185. 




Shadden, Thomas J., 205. 






Shark (ship), 135. 






Shawnces (Indian tribe), 74. 


TAXES, 67. 




Sheep, 28. 


Teachers, missionaries as, 193. 


Shepard, Cyrus (teacher), 55. 


Tennessee (state), 83. 





Index 



299 



The Dalles, 69, 70, 72, 73, 77, 

82, 91, III, 197. 
Thing, Captain — , 182 
Thomas H. Perkins (American 
ship), 32, 194. 

Thomas, Captain — , 36. 

Thompson, L. S., 153. 

Thornton, J. Quinn, 247, 248, 254; 
History of Provisional Govern- 
inent of Oregon, cited, 61, 62, 
276, 277. 

Thurston (county), 170. 

Thurston, Samuel R., 119, 121, 
122, 123, 229, 230, 231,. 233, 234, 
237, 238, 239, 241, 242, 243, 244, 
245, 246, 256, 261, 262, 263 ; his 
letter, 123-140; protests against 
him, 137-140; acts approved, 
139; acts not endorsed, 140; 
death, 144; career and death, 
144-146; illtreats McLoughlin, 
148, 149; false statements by, 
152, 161; excerpts from speech, 
2IO, 211, 246-256, 258, 259, 260, 
261, 262. 

Timber, 201, 235, 236 {see also 
Lumber). 

Tolmie, Dr. F. W., 236. 

Tongue Point (Ore.), 52. 

Tonner, A., 205. 

Tonquin (ship), 24, 285. 

Town,—, 128. 

Townsend, John K., Narrative of 
a Journey across the Rocky 
Mountains, cited, 49, 50. 

Trade and commerce, 95, 191, 192. 

Trade licenses, 177, 178, 179, 180. 

Traders, American, 33, 45-52, 81. 

Trading act, 177. 

Trading Companies, 95, 96, 176- 
179 {see also Hudson's Bay 
Company, and Northwest Fur 
Company). 

Trading posts, 27, 28. 

Trappers, 191. 

Treaties, 19, 20, 21, 39, 68, 86, 87, 



128, 129, 131, 141, 142, 216, 253, 
254 {see also Conventions). 

Tualatin Plains, 203, 204, 210. 

Turner, John, 205. 

Turnham, Joel, 205. 

Typhus fever, 285, 286. 

UMPQUA, 184. 

Umpqua River, 34, 35, 36. 

United States, 19, 20, 26, 28, 32, 
33, 38, 39, 64, 6s, 66, 67, 68, 71, 
72, 85, 88, 90, 95. 100, 101, 104, 
105, III, 112, 113, 120, 121, 122, 
123, 125, 128, 136, 143, 147, 148, 
150, 151, 156, 157, 159, 164, 175, 
176, 177, 178, 179, 184, 185, 186, 
189, 198, 201, 210, 215, 216, 
220, 221, 225, 227, 232, 233, 235, 
239, 240, 248, 250, 257, 260, 265, 
266, 267, 274, 280, 282, 286. 

United States Senate, 104, 105, 
119, 120, 202, 260. 

University of Oregon, 119, 141, 
142, 143, 150, 160, 272, 278. 

VANCOUVER Barracks, 28. 

Vancouver (Fort), 24, 27-34, 35, 
36, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 4^, 47, 48, 
50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 67, 
68, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 
82, 89, 91, 92, 93, 95, 98, 99, "o, 
113, 152, 170, 171, 180, 181, 182, 
183, 185, 190, 191, 195, 197, "99, 
200, 201, 202, 204, 206, 208, 236, 
253, 255, 257, 258, 268, 275, 276, 
281, 285. 

Vancouver Island, 24. 

Vancouver, Point, 28. 

Varney, Captain — , 32. 

Vavasour, Lieutenant and Cap- 
tain — , 91, 94, 270. 

Venison, 43. 

Victor, Frances Fuller, 226, 270; 
The River of the fVest, cited, 
97, 110, 219, 227, 271. 

Victoria (Queen of England), 131, 
233, 250, 267. 



300 



Dr. John McLoughlin 



Virginia (state), 84. 

WAIILATPU (Wash.), 54. 

Wait, Aaron E., 247, 248, 254. 

Walahmette Valley, 78 {see Wil- 
lamette Valley). 

Walamet Valley, 269 {see Wil- 
lamette Valley). 

Walker, — , 55. 

Wallace, — , 222. 

Wallamatte River, 266 (see Wil- 
lamette River). 

Wallamet Falls, 104, 163, 219 
{see Willamette Falls). 

Wallamette River, io8, 115, 224 
{see Willamette River). 

Wallamette Valley, 265, 284 {see 
Willamette Valley), 

Wallammette Falls Settlement, 
213, 218 {see Oregon City). 

Walla Walla (Wash.), 54, 77. 

Waller, Rev. Alvin F., 106, 107, 
108, 109, no. III, 114, 115, 127, 
191, 205, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 
217, 218, 219, 220, 223, 224, 225, 
226, 227, 236, 237. 

Wappatoo Island, 258. 

Warehouses, 109, 202. 

Warre, Captain — , 91, 270. 

Wars: 67, 157, 164. American 
Revolution, 20, 83 ; War of 1812, 
20, 84; Indian, 27, 40, 84, 88, 
145, 274, 277. 

Washington, D. C. (city), 21, 86, 
104, 119, 123, 130. 150, 211, 219, 
222, 223, 234, 263, 276. 

Washington (state), 19, 54, 170, 
211. 

Washougal (Wash.), 28. 

Watt, Joseph, Recollections, cited, 
79, 281-283. 

Webster, Noah, 234. 

Wesleyan Church, 112. 

Wesleyan Missionary Society, 112, 
{see also Missionaries, and Mis- 
sions). 



IFestern Star, cited, 144, 262. 

West, Middle, 84. 

West Point (N. Y.), 227. 

Westport (Mo.), 58. 

Wheat, 28, 41, 42, 46, 49, 80, 118, 
122, 200, 201, 202, 210, 232, 257, 
258, 263, 268, 280. 

White, Dr. Elijah (medical mis- 
sionary), 58, 97, 104, ii8, 136, 
137, 226, 227. 

Whitman, Dr. Marcus, 53, 54, 60, 
73, 74, 167, 280. 

Whitman, Mrs. Marcus, 54. 

Whitman massacre, 27, 40, 74. 

Wilbraham (Mass.), 112. 

Wilkes, — , Journal, cited, 233. 

Wilkes, Commodore Charles, 29, 
266, 267, 268 ; excerpts from his 
Narrative, 190-196. 

Wilkes, George, History of Ore- 
gon, cited, 75. 

Willamette, 130, 131, 205. 

Willamette Falls, 106, 11 1, 114, 
117, 119, 136, 200, 202, 219, 235. 

Willamette Milling and Trading 
Companies, 141, 142. 

Willamette River, 28, 49, 52, 75, 

102, 107, 114, 136, 181, 182, 183, 
185, 186, 192, 193, 199, 200, 230, 
233, 236, 258, 286. 

Willamette Valley, 37, 39, 42, 44, 
46, 55, 64, 70, 77, 88, 89, 102, 

103, 116, 136, 140, 191, 211, 232, 
269. 

William and Ann (ship), 35, 38. 

William (Fort), 24, 47. 

Williams, R., 205. 

Willson, W. H., 205. 

Wilson, Albert E., 116, 206, 208, 

209, 211. 
Wilson, E. C, 204. 
Winthrop, Robert C, 144, 256, 258, 

260. 
Wrecks, 35, 45, 194, 196 {see also 

Ships). 
Wyeth, Captain Nathaniel J., 32, 



Index 



301 



45, 46, 47. 49. 54, 57, "7, 144. 
i8t, 182, 183, 196, 199; Journal 
cited, 45, 46, 47, 48 ; letters to, 
256, 257, 260; letters by, 257- 
259, 260, 261. 

Wygant, Mrs, Theodore, 25. 

Wyoming (state), 20. 



YAKIMA (Indians), 274. 

Yatten, Joseph, 205. 

Yerba Buena, 25, 69 {see San 

Francisco). 
Young, Ewing, 50, 51, 52, 64, 204. 
Young, Frederic G., 272, 279. 



€arlj> Wt^tttn ®rabelsf 

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o -"<;," ?°^= ""■"'«!" 1764. , ,. , , 14, 15, 16, 17-S. H. Long's Expedition from 

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